Siblings of Sandy Hook Victims Face Survivor's Guilt

Six-year-old Arielle Pozner was in a classroom at Sandy Hook school when Adam Lanza burst into the school with his rifle and handguns. Her twin brother, Noah, was in a classroom down the hall.

Noah Pozner was killed by Lanza, along with 19 other children at the school, and six adults. Arielle and other students' siblings survived.

"That's going to be incredibly difficult to cope with," said Dr. Jamie Howard, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute in New York. "It is not something we expect her to cope with today and be OK with tomorrow."

READ: Two Adult Survivors of Connecticut School Shooting Will be Key Witnesses

As the community of Newtown, Conn., begins to bury the young victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting today, the equally young siblings of those killed will only be starting to comprehend what happened to their brothers and sisters.

"Children this young do experience depression in a diagnosable way, they do experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Just because they're young, they don't escape the potential for real suffering," said Rahil Briggs, a child psychologist and professor at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

President Obama on Newtown Shooting: 'We Must Change' Watch Video

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Arielle and other survivor siblings could develop anxiety or other emotional reactions to their siblings' death, including "associative logic," where they associate their own actions with their sibling's death, Howard said.

"This is when two things happen, and (children) infer that one thing caused the other. (Arielle) may be at risk for that type of magical thinking, and that could be where survivor's guilt comes in. She may think she did something, but of course she didn't," Howard said.

CLICK HERE for photos from the shooting scene.

Children in families where one sibling has died sometimes struggle as their parents are overwhelmed by grief, Howard noted. When that death is traumatic, adults and children sometimes choose not to think about the person or the event to avoid pain.

Interested in How to Help Newtown Families?

"With traumatic grief, it's really important to talk about and think about the children that died, not to avoid talking and thinking about them because that interferes with grieving process, want their lives to be celebrated," Howard said.

Children may also have difficulty understanding why their deceased brother or sister is receiving so much, or so little, attention, according Briggs.

"I think one of the most challenging questions we can be faced with as parents is how to 'appropriately' remember a child that is gone. So much that can go wrong with that," Briggs said. "You have the child who is fortunate enough to escape, who thinks 'Why me? Why did my brother go?' But if you don't remember the sibling enough the child says 'it seems like we've forgotten my brother.'"

"They may even find themselves feeling jealous of all the attention the sibling seems to be receiving," Briggs said.

Parents and other adults in the family's support system need to be on alert, watching the child's behavior, she said. Children could show signs of withdrawing, or seeming spacy or in a daze. They could also seem jumpy or have difficulty concentrating in the wake of a traumatic event.

"For kids experiencing symptoms, and interfering with ability to go to school, they may be suffering from acute stress disorder, and there are good treatments," Howard said.

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Gut instincts: The secrets of your second brain

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Delhi rape highlights chronic women's safety issues in India

NEW DELHI: A weekend trip to the movies for a medical student in her twenties and her male friend ended in horrifying brutality on Sunday night.

She was harassed and then gang raped on a moving bus. Her friend tried to intervene but was beaten up with an iron rod. The two were later thrown from the vehicle, semi naked.

The woman is now in critical condition in a New Delhi hospital suffering from head injuries, cuts, as well as sexual assault wounds.

"Five to seven people started harassing her. The boy protested and made every effort to come to her aid, but some people caught hold of him. Then three to four people took her and gang raped her in the cabin of the bus," said D.K. Mishra, a relative of girl's male friend.

Whilst tragic and very disturbing, incidents such as this are becoming far too common in the Indian capital.

Reactions from politicians are also becoming increasingly similar.

Opposition politicians blamed the party in power for not doing enough to protect women, while the chief minister of Delhi said her government would do whatever it took to make sure such incidents do not happen again.

"The stringent actions required will be taken, not just in this incident but precautionary measures will also be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future," said Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit.

However that often-heard promise begins to sound hollow when the records of rape cases are analysed.

According to National Crime Records Bureau, 568 cases of rape were registered in New Delhi in 2011.

"If women are not safe here, then where ever in the country you can imagine a woman be safe? No parent can sleep in peace if this is the kind of situation which is developing in our capital," said Ranjana Kumari, Director of the Centre for Social Research.

India's other major cities are not far behind. Entertainment and financial hub Mumbai is second on the list with 218 cases.

One also has to bear in mind that these numbers are just cases which are registered. Many more cases in the cities and throughout the country are never registered.

There are laws to protect the rights of women but rape case statistics point to a very disappointing lack of enforcement borne out of deep-rooted social attitudes.

- CNA/jc

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NFL Week 15: The best photos

The Jacksonville Jaguars observe a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Connecticut school shooting before their game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday, December 16. Check out the action from Week 15 of the NFL and then look back at the best photos from Week 14.

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What's next in gun control debate?

Now that three days have passed since 27 people, including 20 children, were killed by one gunman in Newtown, Conn., the discussion over gun control has bubbled to the surface. After President Obama got the discussion started just hours after the massacre when he called for "meaningful action" on guns "regardless of politics," he renewed his vow to take action Sunday night when speaking to residents of of the grief-striken town. "What choice do we have?" he rhetorically asked. "We can't accept events like this as routine."  

Play Video

"We are not doing enough" to prevent these massacres, Obama says

If action is taken, Congress will have a major role. Members of the legislative body escalated the debate on Sunday on the political talk shows as well as more elected officials threw their voice into the discussion, with proponents of gun control calling for a ban on assault weapons.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a fierce proponent of gun control, vowed to reintroduce legislation that would ban assault weapons on the first day the new Congress convenes in January.

"I can tell you that [the president] is going to have a bill to lead on because...I'm going to introduce [it] in the Senate and the same bill will be introduced in the House - a bill to ban assault weapons," Feinstein said. It would ban the sale and possession of the powerful weapons and limit the size of clips to a maximum of ten bullets. Feinstein was instrumental in the previous assault weapons ban of 1994, which expired in 2004.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., also called for a federal ban on assault weapons. "[N]ot to take anybody's guns away that they have now but to stop the manufacturing of these weapons," he said. "We've got to continue to hear the screams of these children and see their blood until we do something to try and prevent this from happening again."

Lieberman also called for "a national commission on mass violence." He said on "Fox News Sunday" that it shouldn't supplant any legislation but to insure that "legislative gridlock" doesn't overcome any changes that might be necessary.

While gun control advocates sounded the alarm, most prominent leaders of the Republican Party have been silent, allowing gun control advocates to fill the immediate void.

The National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby, is stone silent. The organization has repeatedly withheld comment and has yet to offer its condolences to the victims. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, cancelled the Republican weekly address, deferring to President Obama to lead the nation at this time. And the Sunday political shows, which are usually filled with opinionated politicians from all sides, were absent of gun rights advocates. But it wasn't for the lack of effort.

For instance, CBS News' "Face the Nation" invited numerous pro-gun members of Congress to appear on the program to discuss Newtown and guns. All declined.

"It's not just that Congress is reluctant to pass laws," Bob Schieffer, the host of "Face the Nation" said Sunday. "Members, as we found out this weekend when we tried to get guests to come on and talk about this on 'Face the Nation,' people are just reluctant to even discuss it."

And the executive producer of NBC's "Meet the Press", Betsy Fischer Martin, wrote via Twitter that her team reached out to "ALL 31 pro-gun rights [Senators] in the new Congress to invite them to share their views... NO takers."

One gun advocate, however, did accept Fox News' invitation to speak Sunday - Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas - who said there should be a debate on the issue. "[T]he conversation we've go to have has got to have everybody open-minded," Gohmert said.

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Newtown Victims: 'Hero' Teacher, Principal, 20 Kids

Twenty bright first graders with their entire lives ahead of them were gunned down on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Along with the students, the lives of six school staffers, including a devoted teacher and a proud principal, were lost. Click through to see the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Noah Pozner and his twin sister celebrated their sixth birthdays on Nov. 20. His sister, Arielle, who was in another class, survived.

Pozner's uncle Alexis Haller told The Associated Press that he was "smart as a whip," gentle but with a rambunctious streak.

Haller told the AP that Pozner called Arielle his best friend.

"They were always playing together, they loved to do things together," Haller said. When his mother, a nurse, would tell him she loved him, he would answer, "Not as much as I love you, Mom."

Funeral services Pozner are planned for Monday.

Emilie Parker, the little girl with the blond hair and bright blue eyes, would have been one of the first to comfort her classmates at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had a gunman's bullets not claimed her life, her father said.

"My daughter Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving support to all the victims because that's the kind of kid she is," her father, Robbie Parker said as he fought back tears, telling the world about his "bright, creative and loving" daughter who was one of the 20 young victims in the Newtown, Conn., shooting.

"She always had something kind to say about anybody," her father said. "We find comfort reflecting on the incredible person Emilie was and how many lives she was able to touch."

Emilie was a budding artist who carried her markers and pencils everywhere. Her grandfather recently passed away and Emilie paid tribute to him by slipping a special card she had drawn into his casket, her father said.

WATCH: Emilie's father speaks about his daughter

Jack's funeral is scheduled to take place Monday.
Jack was a fan of New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, who paid tribute to the 6-year-old during Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Cruz honored Jack Sunday on his cleats, writing on them the words "Jack Pinto, My Hero."

"I also spoke to an older brother and he was distraught as well. I told him to stay strong and I was going to do whatever I can to honor him," Cruz said after the game. "He was fighting tears and could barely speak to me."
Cruz said he plans to give the gloves he wore during the game to the boy's family, and spend some time with them.

The family released a statement saying, Jack was an "inspiration to all those who knew him."

"Jack loved school, reading, wrestling, skiing and football. Most of all Jack loved to play with his friends and keep up with his big brother," said his family. "He had a wide smile that would simply light up the room and while we are all uncertain as to how we will ever cope without him, we choose to remember and celebrate his life. Not dwelling on the loss but instead on the gift that we were given and will forever cherish in our hearts forever."

Like most first graders, Jesse Lewis was excited for the holiday season. The 6-year-old, who was in Victoria Soto's class, couldn't wait to go to school on Friday because they were making gingerbread houses, and his father had planned to join them.

Victoria Soto, 27, one of the adult victims, loved being a teacher, her cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC News' Chris Cuomo Friday. In fact, her first-grade students' safety was such a high priority that Soto reportedly lost her life protecting them.

"The family was informed that she was trying to shield, get her children into a closet and protect them from harm, and by doing that put herself between the gunman and the children," Wiltsie said. "And that's when she was tragically shot and killed.

"I'm very proud to have known Vicki," Wiltsie added. "Her life dream was to be a teacher. And her instincts kicked in when she saw there was harm coming to her students.

"It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children," he said. "And in our eyes, she is a hero."

Grace Audrey McDonnell, 7

"We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from so many people. Our daughter Grace was the love and light of our family. Words cannot adequately express our sense of loss."

As with so many, the ABC family has been touched directly by the tragedy in Sandy Hook.

One of the young victims, Catherine Hubbard, is the niece of an ABC News employee.

Here is a statement from the family:
"We are greatly saddened by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Catherine Violet and our thoughts and prayers are with the other families who have been affected by this tragedy.

"We appreciate the overwhelming support from our community that we have received over the past 24 hours.
"We also wish to express our gratitude for all of the emergency responders who responded to this tragic incident as well as the teachers and staff of Sandy Hook School. Our local police and fire departments and the other agencies who are working on this continuing investigation have been incredible.

"We also want to recognize outstanding work of The Connecticut State Police who have been supporting us from the very beginning of this ordeal and continue to provide unwavering support to our family.

"We have no further statement to make at this time and ask that we be afforded the opportunity to grieve with our friends and family.

"We ask that you continue to pray for us and the other families who have experienced loss in this tragedy.

"Jennifer and Matthew Hubbard"

Hochsprung became principal of Sandy Hook in recent years and by all accounts, was devoted to the students and teachers at her school.

"When we had our orientation, you could tell she loved her job," Brenda Lediski, a parent, told ABC News by phone.

Kristin Larson, a former PTA secretary, told the Boston Globe that Hochsprung was "always enthusiastic, always smiling, always game to do anything."

"When I saw her at the beginning of the school year, she was hugging everyone," Larson said.

The terrifying moment Hochsprung came into contact with the gunman were heard over the school intercom and may have saved lives.

It's not clear whether the intercom was turned on purposefully to alert the school's staff to the menace or whether the intercom was on for morning announcements.

Either way, it caught the initial moments of Adam Lanza's lethal fury and gave teachers and others life saving moments to lock their doors and try to hide their children.

Mary Sherlach, School Psychologist

Sherlach had been a school psychologist at Sandy Hook since August of 1994 and had experience working on committees devoted to school safety, according to her website.

Sherlach and her husband, Bill, had been married for 31 years and have two adult daughters.

"I truly enjoy working with the SHS staff, parents and children," she wrote. "And am always ready to assist in problem solving , intervention and prevention."

Her son-in-law, Eric Schwartz, said Sherlach felt she was "doing God's work by helping children."

Lauren Rousseau worked as a substitute teacher before landing a full time position this year at Sandy Hook Elementary School. For the 30-year-old, it was a dream job.

"We will miss her terribly," Lauren's mother, Teresa Rousseau , told the Delaware County Times. "And will take comfort knowing that she had achieved that dream."

The 6-year-old was just learning the rosary and would lead the family in grace every night before dinner, the New Haven Register reported. Her favorite colors were pink and purple. She leaves behind a 3-year-old brother.

Her family released a statement describing Olivia as "creative" and a fan of craft projects and art class. She was a patient big sister to 3-year old Brayden and would lead Grace each evening at the dinner table, according to her father, Brian.

"Olivia was smart, bubbly, and unbelievably entertaining. Her physical loss will be felt every day by those who loved her most, but her sparkly spirit will live on," the statement read.

D'Avino was a behavioral therapist who had only recently started working at Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to Lissa Lovetere, a friend who is handling her funeral planned for Friday.

D'Avino's boyfriend, Anthony Cerritelli, planned to ask her to marry him on Christmas Eve, Lovetere told The Associated Press.

Police told her family that she shielded one of the students during the rampage, Lovetere told the AP.

Jessica's parents, Rich and Krista Rekos, released a statement describing their daughter's love of horses. When she turned 10, they promised, she could have a horse of her own. For Christmas, she asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and hat.

"She devoted her free time to watching horse movies, reading horse books, drawing horses, and writing stories about horses," her family said in the statement.

The family described Jessica as "a creative, beautiful little girl who loved playing with her little brothers, Travis and Shane.

"We cannot imagine our life without her. We are mourning her loss, sharing our beautiful memories we have of her, and trying to help her brother Travis understand why he can't play with his best friend," they said.

The 6-year-old, with her beaming smile, was the daughter of a jazz musician. She sang in a home video with her brother, who was also at Sandy Hook Elementary School during the massacre.

The girl's grandmother, Elba Marquez, told The Associated Press the family moved to Connecticut just two months ago, drawn from Canada, in part, by Sandy Hook's sterling reputation. The grandmother's brother, Jorge Marquez, is mayor of a Puerto Rican town.

Charlotte's parents, Joann and Joel, had lived in Newtown for four or five years, Joann's brother John Hagen, of Nisswa, Minn., told Newsday.

"She was going to go some places in this world," Hagen told the newspaper. "This little girl could light up the room for anyone."

Daniel was the youngest of three children, his family said in a statement. The family described Daniel as "fearless in the pursuit of happiness in life."

"Words really cannot express what a special boy Daniel was. Such a light. Always smiling, unfailingly polite, incredibly affectionate, fair and so thoughtful towards others, imaginative in play, both intelligent and articulate in conversation: in all, a constant source of laughter and joy," the family said.

Josephine's father, Bob, said Sunday that the family will be releasing a statement soon.

"You couldn't think of a better child," neighbor Kevin Grimes told The Associated Press.

Grimes told the AP that he was recently speaking with Chase and the little boy was telling him about winning his first mini-triathlon.

James' mother, Cindy, is a native of Sherrill, N.Y.

"It's a terrible tragedy, and we're a tight community," Mayor William Vineall told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "Everybody will be there for them, and our thoughts and prayers are there for them," he added.

Victims of Sandy Hook Shooting

As more information and images emerge of the victims from Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in coming days, here are the names of the other students and staffers killed:

Madeleine Hsu, 6

Dylan Hockley, 6

Anne Marie Murphy, 52

Caroline Previdi, 6

Avielle Richman, 6

Benjamin Wheeler, 6

Allison Wyatt, 6

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Zebrafish made to grow pre-hands instead of fins

PERHAPS the little fish embryo shown here is dancing a jig because it has just discovered that it has legs instead of fins. Fossils show that limbs evolved from fins, but a new study shows how it may have happened, live in the lab.

Fernando Casares of the Spanish National Research Council and his colleagues injected zebrafish with the hoxd13 gene from a mouse. The protein that the gene codes for controls the development of autopods, a precursor to hands, feet and paws.

Zebrafish naturally carry hoxd13 but produce less of the protein than tetrapods - all four-limbed vertebrates and birds - do. Casares and his colleagues hoped that by injecting extra copies of the gene into the zebrafish embryos, some of their cells would make more of the protein.

One full day later, all of those fish whose cells had taken up the gene began to develop autopods instead of fins. They carried on growing for four days but then died (Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2012.10.015).

"Of course, we haven't been able to grow hands," says Casares. He speculates that hundreds of millions of years ago, the ancestors of tetrapods began expressing more hoxd13 for some reason and that this could have allowed them to evolve autopods.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

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Russia police say anti-Putin protesters freed

MOSCOW: Russian police said on Sunday they had released some 40 people detained during a banned protest against Vladimir Putin, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Braving freezing cold and the threat of heavy fines, hundreds of people defied the authorities on Saturday to gather at Moscow's Lubyanka Square, the seat of the FSB security services, to mark one year since the start of unprecedented anti-Putin protests triggered by fraud-tainted parliamentary polls last December.

Police said around 40 people had been detained at the rally, including star anti-corruption blogger Navalny; Sergei Udaltsov, the leader of leftist group the Left Front; Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Putin's late mentor Anatoly Sobchak; and well-known activist Ilya Yashin.

"All those detained have been released," a Moscow police spokesman told AFP on Sunday, declining to provide any other details.

The opposition had originally planned a march through the city centre, but for the first time since the start of the anti-Putin protests, organisers were unable to get permission from city authorities.

On the eve of the planned event, they urged their supporters to simply show up at Lubyanka Square.

Authorities said that because the rally was unauthorised, its participants would face the threat of jail or fines of up to 300,000 rubles (US$9,700), nearly equal to the annual average salary in Russia.

According to police, 700 people showed up, over 300 of them journalists and bloggers. Participants say a few thousand poured into the square, many of them with flowers they laid at a monument to victims of Stalin-era purges.

Udaltsov said some 5,000 were in attendance.

Observers say the opposition movement is struggling to maintain momentum in the face of the authorities' tough crackdown on dissenters since Putin's return to the Kremlin in May and internal divisions between liberals, leftists and nationalists.

Up to 120,000 people gathered near the Kremlin walls at the peak of the protests last winter.

While some observers said Saturday's rally proved that many people were undeterred by the threat of heavy fines, others called it a disappointment and a blow to the opposition movement.

"The rally was an absolute mistake," political observer Yulia Latynina said on Echo of Moscow radio.

The opposition, she said, had taken unnecessary risks by urging people to show up at the unauthorised rally and was fortunate that the protest had not ended in violent clashes.

Scores of activists are facing jail time for taking part in May 6 protests on the eve of Putin's inauguration for his third term as president.

- AFP/xq

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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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Egypt Islamists claim majority in referendum

CAIRO A narrow majority of Egyptians who voted in the first round of a referendum on a proposed Islamist-backed constitution have approved the document, according to unofficial tallies compiled by the Muslim Brotherhood and released early Sunday.

An official tweet by the Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political group, said its tallies showed nearly 57 percent of voters said "yes" to the disputed charter, while about 43 percent voted "no." The vote was held on Saturday in 10 of the country's 27 provinces, including Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city.

Voting in the remaining provinces will be held Dec. 22.

The Brotherhood, from which President Mohammed Morsi hails, has in the past accurately predicted election results. It said some 32 percent of over 26 million registered voters participated in Saturday's poll. Egypt's remaining 25 million voters, mostly from conservative rural regions, cast ballots next week.

If the constitution is approved by a simple majority of voters, the Islamists empowered after the overthrow of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak would likely gain more clout. The upper house of parliament, dominated by Islamists, would be given the authority to legislate until a new lower house is elected.

If the draft proposal is rejected, elections would be held within three months for a new panel to write a new constitution. In the meantime, legislative powers would remain with Morsi, who won the presidency with a narrow election victory in June.

The official website of Egypt's state television showed that 68 and 72 percent of voters cast "no" ballots in Cairo and Alexandria respectively. The only other two provinces where the "no" vote was the majority were Gharbiyah and Daqahliya in the Nile Delta, north of Cairo.

The Brotherhood and other Islamists enjoy wide support in most of the 17 provinces voting on Dec. 22, something that could raise the overall "yes" vote percentage to higher levels. But the Islamists led by the Brotherhood are widely thought to have lost some of their popularity because of the perception that Morsi and the Islamist-backed government of Prime Minister Hesham Kandil have failed to resolve any of the country's problems, like unemployment, rising prices and security.

Worse still, Egyptians are bracing for a wide range of steep price hikes as part of the government's program to boost revenues and restructure the economy to secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Yesterday's vote capped a near two-year struggle over Egypt's identity since the ouster of longtime leader Mubarak, with the latest crisis over the charter evolving into a dispute over whether Egypt should move toward a religious state under Morsi's Brotherhood and their ultraconservative Salafi allies, or one that retains secular traditions and an Islamic character.

Underlining the tension, some 120,000 army troops were deployed to help the police protect polling stations and state institutions after clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents over the past three weeks left at least 10 people dead and about 1,000 wounded.

There were no serious incidents of violence during Saturday's vote. Although there was no evidence of mass fraud, monitors from the opposition and rights groups said the boycott of the referendum by most judges was reflected in the chaos prevailing in some polling centers.

The violations reported by monitors included polling centers collecting votes without judges to oversee the process, civil employees illegally replacing the judges, ballot papers not officially stamped as per regulations, campaigning inside polling stations and Christian voters being turned away.

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