Lakers intrigued by chance to play for D’Antoni

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Pau Gasol got home from the game and read about it on Twitter, while Dwight Howard got a midnight message on his BlackBerry. They shared most Los Angeles Lakers fans’ mix of surprise, trepidation and anticipation.

Just when everybody thought the Lakers were getting back together with Phil Jackson, they switched course in the middle of the night and went with Mike D’Antoni.

What a weekend in Hollywood — and the real drama isn’t over yet.

The Lakers reacted with ample excitement and a little bewilderment Monday to their front office’s surprising decision to hire D’Antoni as coach Mike Brown’s replacement over Jackson, the 11-time champion who discussed the job at his home Saturday and apparently wanted to return. D’Antoni didn’t even interview for the job in person, speaking to the Lakers over the phone.

“It has been crazy, but all this stuff will just make this team stronger,” said Howard, who has been in a Lakers uniform for about six weeks. “Everything that we’ve been through so far, it’s going to make us stronger, and we have to look at this as a positive situation.”

The Lakers’ third coach in four days won’t take over the team until later in the week. D’Antoni still hadn’t been cleared to travel Monday after undergoing knee replacement surgery earlier in the month, although the Lakers are optimistic the former Knicks and Suns coach will arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

So interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff was still in charge Monday when the Lakers gathered for an informal workout ahead of Tuesday’s game against San Antonio. Just two weeks into the regular season, the Lakers (3-4) are about to start over with a new offense and another coaching staff — and a renewed certainty they’re expected to compete for a title this season.

“It’s been a zoo,” said forward Antawn Jamison, a 15-year NBA veteran who played for D’Antoni on a U.S. national team. “But as I was telling somebody, it’s just a typical day here in L.A. It’s interesting. … It should be a lot easier to adjust to than the system we were trying to get adjusted to early on in the season. We’ve got Steve (Nash) that can help us out.”

Two Lakers who supported both Brown and his two potential replacements weren’t available in El Segundo to weigh in on the hire. Nash missed the workout while getting treatment on his injured leg, while Kobe Bryant left before it ended to share a helicopter ride back home to Orange County with point guard Steve Blake, who needed an exam on his abdominal injury.

And the tall, professorial coach with all the rings wasn’t at the Lakers’ training complex at all.

Just 24 hours after Jackson seemed headed back to his oversized chair on the Staples Center bench, D’Antoni had the job.

It’s too soon to tell how the Buss family’s latest counterintuitive move will sit with Lakers fans, who chanted “We want Phil!” during the club’s weekend games, both victories after a 1-4 start.

“I think everybody had expectations about it, and they were all pretty high,” Gasol said of Jackson’s potential return. “We all understood what Phil brings to the table … and what he means to the city and the franchise. It just couldn’t work out for whatever reason.”

Jackson issued a statement to a handful of media outlets Monday, implying he was essentially offered the job after meeting with Lakers owner Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak. Jackson thought he would be able to come back to the Lakers on Monday with his decision, but instead was awakened by a midnight phone call from Kupchak.

“The decision is of course theirs to make,” Jackson said in his statement. “I am gratified by the groundswell of support from the Laker fans who endorsed my return, and it is the principal reason why I considered the possibility.”

The Lakers largely echoed the thoughts of Howard, who was looking forward to playing for Jackson: “Management had to do what they felt is best for the team, and we as players have got to find a way to win.”

The Lakers publicly offered no reason for passing over the coach with the most championships in NBA history. Although nobody could claim the Buss family is afraid of spending money, Brown is still owed well over $ 10 million for the remaining three seasons on his four-year, $ 18 million contract, while D’Antoni will make $ 4 million a season for the next three years — and their salaries together might be less than what Jackson would command.

The Lakers largely know what they would get with Jackson, but D’Antoni intrigues this older, top-heavy team with an urgency to contend for a title before Howard’s free agency next summer and Bryant’s possible retirement in a few years.

Howard and Gasol both believe D’Antoni’s up-tempo style can work well for the Lakers. Howard would seem to be a natural to partner with Nash in the pick-and-roll attacks loved by D’Antoni and Nash, although Gasol doesn’t immediately fit into the definition of a big man who can play on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers.

“It’s a great system, (but) I don’t think he ever had a defender such as myself or a defender such as Dwight Howard on those teams,” Metta World Peace said. “I don’t think he ever coached those type of players, so his defense should be self-explanatory, and his offense is amazing, so it should be fun for Laker fans.”

The rest of the NBA sat back and watched the Lakers’ drama with amusement over the past two days, with Dallas owner Mark Cuban weighing in gleefully on the mess: “I hope they have to do it again and again and again.”

Jackson’s flirtation with the job is the strongest indication yet that he’s interested in coaching again, which makes him a prime candidate for another franchise. Yet D’Antoni also received praise around the league — even from New York, where he resigned last March after failing to win a playoff game in four years with the Knicks.

“Despite all the hoopla … that was going on about me and Mike, we actually have a pretty good relationship, especially behind closed doors,” Carmelo Anthony said. “We actually talked a lot, talked basketball. Hopefully he brings some positive energy over there. Anytime guys are losing like that, there’s always negativity, a lot of negative energy. So sometimes change is better.”

Added Dwyane Wade, who has played for D’Antoni on the U.S. national team: “He has a tough job ahead of him, but I’m sure he’s excited about the opportunity that he gets to be with America’s team.”

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AP Sports Writers Brian Mahoney and Chris Duncan contributed to this report.

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Nesquik Recall Q and A: Are Your Kids Safe?

Nestlé announced late last week a recall of Nesquik for possible Salmonella contamination. Promoted by the Nesquik Bunny, the chocolate milk flavoring is consumed primarily by children. Here’s what you need to know to make sure your kids are safe from this Salmonella risk.

How Do I Know If My Nesquik Is Part of the Recall?

The Nesquik recall covers only chocolate powder in 10.9, 21.8 and 40.7 ounce canisters manufactured during October 2012. Any other Nesquik products are not subject to recall. According to CNN, 200,000 canisters of Nesquik are included in the recall.

Nesquik subject to the recall bears a Best Before date of October 2014. The applicable UPC codes and production codes include: for 40.7 ounce containers UPC 0 28000 68230 9 with production codes 2282574810 or 2282574820; for 21.8 ounce size, UPC 0 28000 68090 9 and production codes 2278574810, 2278574820, 2279574810, 2279574820, 2284574820, 2284574830, 2285574810, 2285574820, 2287574820, 2289574810, or 2289574820; and, for 10.9 ounce canisters, UPC 0 28000 67990 3 and product code 2278574810.

What About Ready-to-Drink Nesquik Served at My Kid’s School?

In June, Nestlé went after the school lunch market by offering eight-ounce ready-to-drink Nesquik. If your child’s school is serving ready-to-drink Nesquik, there’s no cause for concern. The recall covers only the powder variety of Nesquik, not the ready-to-drink type.

What Led to the Nesquik Recall?

Nestlé identifies a supplier of calcium carbonate used in the drink powder as the culprit. The recall notice says Omya, Inc., notified Nestlé of its own product recall due to Salmonella concerns. There have been no reports of illness associated with the Nesquik recall, Nestlé says.

What Is Calcium Carbonate?

Calcium carbonate is an additive included in powdered products to prevent caking and/or to increase calcium content, according to Self.

If My Child Gets Sick, How Will I Know Whether or Not It’s from Salmonella?

Salmonella infection symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. These normally develop within 72 hours of consuming contaminated food or drink. Most people who do contract salmonellosis get better in about a week without treatment. For infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems, salmonellosis can be life threatening and medical treatment is advised.

Can I Get a Refund?

Yes. Return recalled Nesquik to the store where you bought it for a refund, or call Nestlé Consumer Services at (800) 628-7679.

Carol Bengle Gilbert writes about consumer issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

Parenting/Kids News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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‘Sesame Street’ Elmo puppeteer takes leave amid sex scandal

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The puppeteer and voice behind the character Elmo on “Sesame Street” has taken a leave of absence from the children’s television show following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy, producers said on Monday.

New York-based Sesame Workshop said in a statement that its own inquiry concluded that the claim of underage sexual conduct was unsubstantiated, and that puppeteer Kevin Clash has denied any wrongdoing and called the allegation “false and defamatory.”

But the company said Clash, 52, was disciplined after an internal investigation showed he “exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage.”

The Sesame Workshop statement said the puppeteer was “taking actions to protect his reputation” and that Sesame Workshop has “granted him a leave of absence to do so.”

Neither Clash nor his personal publicist was immediately available for comment.

CNN quoted a statement from Clash acknowledging a relationship with his accuser but denying he had sexual contact with a minor.

“I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it,” it quoted him as saying. “I had a relationship with the accuser, it was between two consenting adults, and I am deeply saddened that he is characterizing it as something other than what it was.”

The statement went on to say, “I’m taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation.”

Sesame Workshop said the matter came to its attention when it received a communication in June from accuser, now aged 23, alleging that he had a relationship with Clash beginning when he was 16 years old.

“We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action,” the company said, adding that it met with the accuser twice and had “repeated communications with him.” The company said it also discussed the matter with Clash, who denied the allegations.

A spokeswoman for the show said she did not know whether law enforcement authorities were looking into the allegations.

Clash officially joined the “Sesame Street” cast in 1984, assuming the Elmo role that year.

Elmo’s character had debuted on the show in 1979, and though Clash was the third performer to animate the child-like shaggy red monster, Sesame Workshop credits him with turning Elmo into the international sensation he became.

For now, producers promised that Elmo would remain on the show despite the absence of Clash, saying “Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of ‘Sesame Street.’”

(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Cynthia Osterman)

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Petraeus probe ensnares top U.S. commander in Afghanistan

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) — In a new twist to the Gen. David Petraeus sex scandal, the Pentagon said Tuesday that the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, is under investigation for alleged "inappropriate communications" with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom Petraeus had an extramarital affair.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a written statement issued to reporters aboard his aircraft, en route from Honolulu to Perth, Australia, that the FBI referred the matter to the Pentagon on Sunday.

Panetta said that he ordered a Pentagon investigation of Allen on Monday.

A senior defense official traveling with Panetta said Allen's communications were with Jill Kelley, who has been described as an unpaid social liaison at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., which is headquarters to the U.S. Central Command. She is not a U.S. government employee.

Kelley is said to have received threatening emails from Broadwell, who is Petraeus' biographer and who had an extramarital affair with Petraeus that reportedly began after he became CIA director in September 2011.

Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday.

Allen, a four-star Marine general, succeeded Petraeus as the top American commander in Afghanistan in July 2011.

The senior official, who discussed the matter only on condition of anonymity because it is under investigation, said Panetta believed it was prudent to launch a Pentagon investigation, although the official would not explain the nature of Allen's problematic communications.

The official said 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents from Allen's communications with Kelley between 2010 and 2012 are under review. He would not say whether they involved sexual matters or whether they are thought to include unauthorized disclosures of classified information. He said he did not know whether Petraeus is mentioned in the emails.

"Gen. Allen disputes that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in this matter," the official said. He said Allen currently is in Washington.

Panetta said that while the matter is being investigated by the Defense Department Inspector General, Allen will remain in his post as commander of the International Security Assistance Force, based in Kabul. He praised Allen as having been instrumental in making progress in the war.

The FBI's decision to refer the Allen matter to the Pentagon rather than keep it itself, combined with Panetta's decision to allow Allen to continue as Afghanistan commander without a suspension, suggested strongly that officials viewed whatever happened as a possible infraction of military rules rather than a violation of federal criminal law.

Allen was Deputy Commander of Central Command, based in Tampa, prior to taking over in Afghanistan. He also is a veteran of the Iraq war.

In the meantime, Panetta said, Allen's nomination to be the next commander of U.S. European Command and the commander of NATO forces in Europe has been put on hold "until the relevant facts are determined." He had been expected to take that new post in early 2013, if confirmed by the Senate, as had been widely expected.

Panetta said President Barack Obama was consulted and agreed that Allen's nomination should be put on hold. Allen was to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Panetta said he asked committee leaders to delay that hearing.

Panetta also said he wants the Senate Armed Services Committee to act promptly on Obama's nomination of Gen. Joseph Dunford to succeed Allen as commander in Afghanistan. That nomination was made several weeks ago. Dunford's hearing is also scheduled for Thursday.

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BBC must reform or die, says Trust chairman

LONDON (Reuters) – The BBC could be doomed unless it makes radical changes, the head of its governing trust said on Sunday, after its director general quit to take the blame for the airing of false child sex abuse allegations against a former politician.

Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, said confidence had to be restored if the publicly funded corporation was to withstand pressure from rivals, especially Rupert Murdoch‘s media empire, which would try to take advantage of the turmoil.

“If you’re saying, ‘Does the BBC need a thorough structural radical overhaul?’, then absolutely it does, and that is what we will have to do,” Patten, a one-time senior figure in Prime Minister David Cameron‘s Conservative Party and the last British governor of Hong Kong, told BBC television.

“The basis for the BBC’s position in this country is the trust that people have in it,” Patten said. “If the BBC loses that, it’s over.”

George Entwistle resigned as director general on Saturday, just two months into the job, to take responsibility for the child sex allegation on the flagship news programme Newsnight.

The witness in the report, who says he suffered sexual abuse at a care home in the late 1970s, said on Friday he had misidentified the politician, Alistair McAlpine. Newsnight admitted it had not shown the witness a picture of McAlpine, or approached McAlpine for comment before going to air.

Already under pressure after revelations that a long-time star presenter, the late Jimmy Savile, was a paedophile, Entwistle conceded on the BBC morning news that he had not known – or asked – who the alleged abuser was until the name appeared in social media.

The BBC, celebrating its 90th anniversary, is affectionately known in Britain as “Auntie”, and respected around much of the world.

But with 22,000 staff working at eight national TV channels, 50 radio stations and an extensive Internet operation, critics say it is hampered by a complex and overly bureaucratic and hierarchical management structure.

THOMPSON’S LEGACY

Journalists said this had become worse under Entwistle’s predecessor Mark Thompson, who took over in the wake of the last major crisis to hit the corporation and is set to become chief executive of the New York Times Co on Monday.

In that instance, both director general and chairman were forced out after the BBC was castigated by a public inquiry over a report alleging government impropriety in the fevered build up to war in Iraq, leading to major organisational changes.

One of the BBC’s most prominent figures, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, said since the Iraq report furore, management had become bloated while cash had been cut from programme budgets.

“He (Entwistle) has been brought low by cowards and incompetents,” Paxman said in a statement, echoing a widely-held view that Entwistle was a good man who had been let down by his senior staff.

Prime Minister Cameron appeared ready to give the BBC the benefit of the doubt, believing that “one of the great institutions of this country” could reform and deal with its failings, according to sources in his office.

Patten, who must find a new director general to sort out the mess, agreed that management structures had proved inadequate.

“Apparently decisions about the programme went up through every damned layer of BBC management, bureaucracy, legal checks – and still emerged,” he said.

“One of the jokes I made, and actually it wasn’t all that funny, when I came to the BBC … was that there were more senior leaders in the BBC then there were in the Chinese Communist Party.”

Patten ruled out resigning himself but other senior jobs are expected to be on the line, while BBC supporters fear investigative journalism will be scaled back. He said he expected to name Entwistle’s successor in weeks, not months.

Among the immediate challenges are threats of litigation.

McAlpine, a close ally of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, has indicated he will sue for damages.

Claims for compensation are also likely from victims who say Savile, one of the most recognisable personalities on British television in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, sexually abused them as children, sometimes on BBC premises.

INQUIRIES

Two inquiries are already under way, looking at failures at Newsnight and allegations relating to Savile, both of which could make uncomfortable reading for senior figures.

Police have also launched a major inquiry into Savile’s crimes and victims’ allegations of a high-profile paedophile ring. Detectives said they had arrested their third suspect on Sunday, a man in his 70s from Cambridgeshire in central England.

Funded by an annual licence fee levied on all TV viewers, the BBC has long been resented by its commercial rivals, who argue it has an unfair advantage and distorts the market.

Murdoch’s Sun tabloid gleefully reported Entwistle’s departure with the headline “Bye Bye Chump” and Patten said News Corp and others would put the boot in, happy to deflect attention after a phone-hacking scandal put the newspaper industry under intense and painful scrutiny.

He said that “one or two newspapers, Mr. Murdoch’s papers” would love to see the BBC lose its national status, “but I think the great British public doesn’t want to see that happen”.

Murdoch himself was watching from afar.

“BBC getting into deeper mess. After Savile scandal, now prominent news program falsely names senior pol as paedophile,” he wrote on his Twitter website on Saturday.

It is not just the BBC and the likes of Entwistle and Patten who are in the spotlight.

Thompson, whom Entwistle succeeded in mid-September, has also faced questions from staff at the New York Times over whether he is still the right person to take one of the biggest jobs in American newspaper publishing.

Britain’s Murdoch-owned Sunday Times queried how Thompson could have been unaware of claims about Savile during his tenure at the BBC as he had told British lawmakers, saying his lawyers had written to the paper addressing the allegations in early September, while he was still director general.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey and Sophie Hares)

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China’s Alibaba Group Q2 net profit doubles: SEC filing

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China‘s Alibaba Group more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71 percent for the period, proving the country’s largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector.

Yahoo Inc which sold a partial stake in Alibaba back to the privately-owned group in September, still holds 24 percent of Alibaba.

According to a Yahoo filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Alibaba Group’s net attributable income for the quarter was $ 273 million, up 129 percent from a year ago. Revenue rose 71 percent to $ 1.1 billion.

Based on the second-quarter results, Alibaba Group is the second-largest Chinese Internet company by revenue, behind Tencent Holdings and ahead of Baidu Inc. It is the last large China Internet firm that is still private and not required to publicly disclose financial statements.

Alibaba, which runs the Taobao Marketplace, China’s largest business-to-consumer e-commerce website, and Alibaba.com, China’s largest business-to-business platform, has a business model that revolves around online advertising and subscription fees.

Alibaba’s profit for the first nine months of the year was up more than 300 percent to $ 730.4 million, while revenue was up 74 percent to $ 2.9 billion.

Alibaba’s soaring growth reflects the underlying boom in China’s e-commerce industry that was worth 278.84 billion yuan ($ 45 billion) in gross transaction value in the second quarter.

However, the rise in e-commerce has led to intensifying competition in the sector with e-commerce firms launching price wars and sales events to lure consumers to their platform.

On Sunday, China’s e-commerce players such as 360buy, Ecommerce China Dangdang Inc and Alibaba launched a “11.11″ sale, a massive online sale akin to Cyber Monday in the United States. The “11.11″ sale offered big discounts on electronics and apparel to tempt users to shop.

Alibaba said it recorded its highest one-day gross transaction value, at 19.1 billion yuan ($ 3.06 billion), on Sunday. ($ 1 = 6.2450 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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Protective eye gear cuts field hockey injuries

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Fewer high school field hockey players get head and face injuries when they’re required to don protective eyewear, according to a new comparison of states with and without those policies in effect.

Researchers were looking into worries that the equipment, while preventing eye injuries, might encourage players to get more physical and violent overall – which they termed “the gladiator effect” – leading to an increase in injuries.

“There’s often this concern… that if we provide additional protection in the way of some type of equipment or padding that players will then be more aggressive and actually create more injuries because of the increased aggression,” said Andrew Lincoln, head of sports medicine research at MedStar Health Research Institute at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.

However that did not appear to be the case, and concussion rates, for example, were similar in states where eyewear was and was not required during the study.

Lincoln, who was not involved in the new research, said that in addition to concerns about athletes becoming more aggressive, some administrators were worried about the negative effects of adding more equipment for athletes to buy and more rules for referees to enforce. Cages used for eye protection run about $ 25 to $ 80.

When a similar mandate was introduced in high school girls’ lacrosse, he added, veteran athletes were not fans.

“There was a strong negative reaction among players who had played the game for a number of years and were not used to using it and thought it affected their vision negatively,” Lincoln told Reuters Health.

He said it was reassuring that the new analysis didn’t find an increase in concussions or other collision-related injuries in states that had protective eyewear rules.

“We have very few of these formal evaluations of a safety intervention or a policy change in various sports,” Lincoln said. Even though it made sense that eyewear would reduce at least certain kinds of injuries, “We’re never quite sure how things are going to work out in real life.”

The new research covers 180 high schools during the 2009 and 2010 fall field hockey seasons. In 2009, six states had policies mandating protective eyewear for their athletes: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.

As of 2011-2012, the National Federation of State High School Associations now requires all field hockey players wear the equipment.

At high schools included in a sports-injury database, there were 212 eye, face and head injuries during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. Those types of injuries are most often due to athletes being struck by a wooden field hockey stick or a ball, researchers led by Dr. Peter Kriz from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said.

In states that required protective eyewear, the average 20-athlete team had one of those injuries for every 106 practices and games. In states without those requirements, that rate was one injury for every 72 practices and games for each team.

There was one eye injury among 39 schools with equipment requirements during those seasons, compared to 21 eye injuries in 141 teams in states without the mandate, according to findings published Monday in Pediatrics.

“This study adds to an accumulating body of evidence, most recently demonstrated in high school women’s lacrosse, that mandated protective eyewear effectively and significantly reduces the incidence of head and facial (including eye) injuries in female athletes where injury from player contact and playing equipment pose risk,” Kriz told Reuters Health in an email.

“We encourage players to adopt protective eyewear early, at a young age, regardless of the contact/collision sport they play. Wearing this gear will become second nature, and they will transition easier to other sports requiring facial protection.”

Lincoln agreed that it’s easiest for younger players to adopt the new gear, before they’re used to playing without it.

“I hope different sport governing bodies look at these studies and will be more open to protective equipment for games,” he said.

SOURCE: http://bitly.com/kSEGVh Pediatrics, online November 12, 2012.

Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Congress wants answers on Petraeus affair

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress said Sunday they want to know more details about the FBI investigation that revealed an extramarital affair between ex-CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer, questioning when the retired general popped up in the FBI inquiry, whether national security was compromised and why they weren't told sooner.

"We received no advanced notice. It was like a lightning bolt," said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The FBI was investigating harassing emails sent by Petraeus biographer and girlfriend Paula Broadwell to a second woman. That probe of Broadwell's emails revealed the affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. The FBI contacted Petraeus and other intelligence officials, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asked Petraeus to resign.

A senior U.S. military official identified the second woman as Jill Kelley, 37, who lives in Tampa, Fla., and serves as an unpaid social liaison to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the military's Central Command and Special Operations Command are located.

Staffers for Petraeus said Kelley and her husband were regular guests at events he held at Central Command headquarters.

In a statement Sunday evening, Kelley and her husband, Scott, said: "We and our family have been friends with Gen. Petraeus and his family for over five years. We respect his and his family's privacy and want the same for us and our three children."

A U.S. official said the coalition countries represented at Central Command gave Kelley an appreciation certificate on which she was referred to as an "honorary ambassador" to the coalition, but she has no official status and is not employed by the U.S. government.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the case publicly, said Kelley is known to drop the "honorary" part and refer to herself as an ambassador.

The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation, said Kelley had received harassing emails from Broadwell, which led the FBI to examine her email account and eventually discover her relationship with Petraeus.

A former associate of Petraeus confirmed the target of the emails was Kelley, but said there was no affair between the two, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the retired general's private life. The associate, who has been in touch with Petraeus since his resignation, says Kelley and her husband were longtime friends of Petraeus and wife, Holly.

Attempts to reach Kelley were not immediately successful. Broadwell did not return phone calls or emails.

Petraeus resigned while lawmakers still had questions about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate and CIA base in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Lawmakers said it's possible that Petraeus will still be asked to appear on Capitol Hill to testify about what he knew about the U.S. response to that incident.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the circumstances of the FBI probe smacked of a cover-up by the White House.

"It seems this (the investigation) has been going on for several months and, yet, now it appears that they're saying that the FBI didn't realize until Election Day that General Petraeus was involved. It just doesn't add up," said King, R-N.Y.

Petraeus, 60, quit Friday after acknowledging an extramarital relationship. He has been married 38 years to Holly Petraeus, with whom he has two adult children, including a son who led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan as an Army lieutenant.

Broadwell, a 40-year-old graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and an Army Reserve officer, is married with two young sons.

Petraeus' affair with Broadwell will be the subject of meetings Wednesday involving congressional intelligence committee leaders, FBI deputy director Sean Joyce and CIA deputy director Michael Morell.

Petraeus had been scheduled to appear before the committees on Thursday to testify on the attack in Benghazi. Republicans and some Democrats have questioned the U.S. response and protection of diplomats stationed overseas.

Morell was expected to testify in place of Petraeus, and lawmakers said he should have the answers to their questions. But Feinstein and others didn't rule out the possibility that Congress will compel Petraeus to testify about Benghazi at a later date, even though he's relinquished his job.

"I don't see how in the world you can find out what happened in Benghazi before, during and after the attack if General Petraeus doesn't testify," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wants to create a joint congressional committee to investigate the U.S. response to that attack.

Feinstein said she first learned of Petraeus' affair from the media late last week, and confirmed it in a phone call Friday with Petraeus. She eventually was briefed by the FBI and said so far there was no indication that national security was breached.

Still, Feinstein called the news "a heartbreak" for her personally and U.S. intelligence operations, and said she didn't understand why the FBI didn't give her a heads up as soon as Petraeus' name emerged in the investigation.

"We are very much able to keep things in a classified setting," she said. "At least if you know, you can begin to think and then to plan. And, of course, we have not had that opportunity."

Clapper was told by the Justice Department of the Petraeus investigation at about 5 p.m. on Election Day, and then called Petraeus and urged him to resign, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

FBI officials say the committees weren't informed until Friday, one official said, because the matter started as a criminal investigation into harassing emails sent by Broadwell to another woman.

Concerned that the emails he exchanged with Broadwell raised the possibility of a security breach, the FBI brought the matter up with Petraeus directly, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

Petraeus decided to quit, though he was breaking no laws by having an affair, officials said.

Feinstein said she has not been told the precise relationship between Petraeus and the woman who reported the harassing emails to the FBI.

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, called Petraeus "a great leader" who did right by stepping down and still deserves the nation's gratitude. He also didn't rule out calling Petraeus to testify on Benghazi at some point.

"He's trying to put his life back together right now and that's what he needs to focus on," Chambliss said.

King appeared on CNN's "State of the Union." Feinstein was on "Fox News Sunday," Graham spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation," and Chambliss was interviewed on ABC's "This Week."

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Associated Press writers Michele Salcedo, Pete Yost and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

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Twin explosions strike southern Syrian city

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria‘s state-run news agency says two large explosions have struck the southern city of Daraa, causing multiple casualties and heavy material damage.

SANA did not immediately give further information or say what the target of Saturday’s explosions was.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the blasts went off near a branch of the country’s Military Intelligence in Daraa.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, says the explosions were followed by clashes between regime forces and rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

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Boehringer Ingelheim to start late-stage hepatitis C drug trial

BOSTON (Reuters) – Boehringer Ingelheim said on Saturday it plans to initiate a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental hepatitis C treatment following promising results from earlier studies.

The company announced final data from a mid-stage trial of its treatment regimen which showed that 69 percent of patients in the study were free of the virus 12 and 24 weeks following the end of treatment.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease of the liver that can lead to liver failure and transplant.

Historically, hepatitis C has been treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, but treatment lasts as long as 48 weeks and interferon is associated with flu-like side effects.

The goal of drugmakers now, including Boehringer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co is to develop products that do not need to be combined with interferon. Most analysts consider Gilead to currently be at the forefront of the race.

Full results from Boehringer’s trial, known as SOUND-C2, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston. Preliminary data were presented earlier this year.

Boehringer’s trial tested a combination of BI-201335, a protease inhibitor, BI-207127, a polymerase inhibitor, and ribivirin.

Boehringer is a privately held company headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany.

(Reporting By Toni Clarke; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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