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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Mandela undergoes successful gallstone surgery

JOHANNESBURG South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela underwent a successful surgery to remove gallstones Saturday, the nation's presidency said, as the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon is still recovering from a lung infection.

Doctors treating Mandela waited to perform the endoscopic surgery as they wanted to first attend to his lung ailment, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. Mandela has been hospitalized since Dec. 8.

In the procedure, a patient receives sedatives and an anesthetic to allow a surgeon to put an endoscope down their throat, authorities say. The surgeon then can remove the gallstones, which are small, crystal-like masses that can cause a person tremendous pain.

"The procedure was successful and Madiba is recovering," Maharaj said, using Mandela's clan name as many do in South Africa as a sign of affection.

Occasionally, a patient who undergoes the same medical procedure Mandela just had may need to have an additional surgery to have the gallbladder removed, according to medical experts. However, Maharaj's statement offered no other details about what additional care Mandela may require, nor did it suggest when he could be released from the hospital.

Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, was admitted last week to a hospital in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, the government has said. At first, officials said Mandela was undergoing tests and later they acknowledged he had been diagnosed with a lung infection.

The Nobel laureate has a history of lung problems, after falling ill with tuberculosis in 1988 toward the tail-end of his 27 years in prison before his release and subsequent presidency. While doctors said at the time the disease caused no permanent damage to his lungs, medical experts say tuberculosis can cause problems years later for those infected.

South Africa, a nation of 50 million people, reveres Mandela for his magnamity and being able to bridge racial gaps after centuries of white racist rule.

This hospital stay, his longest since undergoing radiation therapy in 2001 for prostate cancer, has sparked increasing concern about a man who represents the aspirations of a country still struggling with race and poverty.

Following the chaos that surrounded Mandela's stay at a public hospital in 2011, the South African military took charge of his care and the government took over control of the information about his health. However, public worries over Mandela have grown as government officials contradicted themselves in recent days about Mandela's location, raising questions about who is actually treating him.

On Saturday, the South African National Editors' Forum issued a statement criticizing the government for not being straightforward with journalists about Mandela's hospitalization. The forum said that journalists had been working with the government to set up guidelines on how to handle covering Mandela in his waning years, though state officials ultimately declined to sign off on the agreement.

"Senior government representatives have sought to justify misleading statements about the circumstances surrounding Mr. Mandela's whereabouts on the basis of irresponsible conduct by print and broadcast news organizations," the statement read. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

The editor's forum includes members from newspapers, television broadcasters and radio stations in South Africa, as well as the Foreign Correspondents Association of Southern Africa.

Mandela largely retired from public life after serving one five-year term. He last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. Mandela has also grown more frail in recent years, with his grip on politics in the nation ever slackening.

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Conn. Shooting: Cops Probe Report of Earlier Altercation

Police are investigating reports that Connecticut gunman Adam Lanza had an altercation at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in the days before he carried out a massacre the school's students and staff, sources told ABC News.

Authorities indicated today that they have "some very good evidence" about the motive behind Lanza's shooting spree at the school in Newtown, Conn., and said that the sole person to survive being shot by Lanza will be "instrumental" in the probe.

The grim task of identifying all of Lanza's 27 victims, which included 20 children, was completed today. Families, who already feared the worst, were informed that their loved ones were dead early today.

All of the bodies have now been removed from the school and medical examiners are expected to provide a full list of victims later today.

With the tally of Lanza's carnage complete, authorities and the grieving people of Newtown, Conn., are left to wonder why he turned the elementary school in this quaint New England town into a slaughter house.

CLICK HERE for full coverage of the tragedy at the elementary school.

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Newtown Teacher Kept 1st Graders Calm During Massacre Watch Video

Newtown School Shooting: What to Tell Your Kids Watch Video

Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance, who had compared the investigation to "peeling back the layers of an onion," said the investigation "did produce some very good evidence" about motive, but he would not go into further detail.

He indicated the evidence came from the shooting scene at the school as well as at the home where Lanza's mother, Nancy, was slain.

Also key will be the lone person shot by Lanza who wasn't killed. The female teacher has not been publicly identified.

"She is doing fine," Vance said at a news conference today. "She has been treated and she'll be instrumental in this investigation."

In addition, sources told ABC News authorities are investigating reports that Lanza had an altercation at the school just days before the attack.

Vance said that Lanza forced his way into the school, but did not say how.

Evidence emerged today that Lanza's rampage began in the office of school principal Dawn Hochsprung while the school intercom was on. It's not clear whether it was turned on to alert the school or whether it was on for morning announcements, but the principal's screams and the cries of children heard throughout the school gave teachers time to take precautions to protect their children.

Hochsprung was among those killed in the Friday morning killing spree.

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

Authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview Lanza's relatives, ABC News has learned.

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.

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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.

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Swimming: Chinese star Ye wins 200m medley gold

ISTANBUL: Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen added the world shortcourse 200m individual medley title to her two Olympic golds on Saturday when she clinched victory in 2 minutes 4.64 seconds.

Ye, 16, who took Olympic gold in the 200m and 400m medleys in London, finished ahead of Hungary's Katinka Hosszu and Hannah Miley of Great Britain.

"I'm so happy I came in first today. It feels so good," said Ye, after setting a new championship record.

"I competed against Hosszu many times in many events. This time she was stronger than ever. But I thought 'for sure I won't give up'. I had a chance to come back because in the breaststroke she is not so strong."

- AFP/de

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U.S. sending troops, missiles to Turkey

Showdown in Syria

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: German parliament OKs deployment of German Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Turkey


• U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signs order for missiles and troops en route to Turkey


• The U.S. military will send 400 personnel and two missile batteries to Turkey


• Move signals U.S. support for Turkey in the face of possible threats from Syria

(CNN) -- The United States and Germany are sending Patriot missiles and troops to the Turkish border, a warning to Syria's besieged President Bashar al-Assad.

The surface-to-air interceptors would be "dealing with threats that come out of Syria," said U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Threats would include Syrian strikes inside Turkey and fighting between the government and rebels that extends into Turkey.

Errant Syrian artillery shells struck the Turkish border town of Akcakale and killed five Turkish civilians in October.

"We can't spend a lot of time worrying about whether that pisses off Syria," said Panetta after signing the order Friday. He spoke after arriving Friday at Turkey's Incirlik Air Base, a U.S. Air Force installation about 80 miles from Syria's border.

Despite the prospect of U.S. missiles on Al-Assad's doorstep and a weakening regime, U.S. intelligence officials said the Syrian leader is showing no signs of giving up.

Al-Assad losing control but showing no signs of leaving

The deployment includes two Patriot missile batteries, used solely for defensive purposes, and 400 U.S. troops to operate them.

The United States and NATO hope to have them in place by the second week in January, and a military advance team is going in in the next several days, CNN has learned.

The moves come a week after NATO foreign ministers approved the deployment of Patriots to protect Turkey against any threats from al-Assad's regime, rapidly weakening by rebel advances.

Also Friday, the German parliament approved the deployment of German Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Turkey, with 461 Bundestag deputies voting in favor of the deployment, 86 against and eight abstentions.

The Netherlands have shown willingness to add Patriot batteries, NATO said Friday, to defend Turkey and "de-escalate the crisis on NATO's southeastern border."

Patriots are constructed to take out threats from warplanes and tactical ballistic missiles to unmanned aircraft by impacting with them in midair, according to Raytheon Co., which builds them. The U.S. military used to take out Scud missiles during the Iraq war.

The United States has accused Damascus of launching Scud-type artillery from the capital at rebels in the country's north. One Washington official said missiles came close to the border of Turkey, a NATO member and staunch U.S. ally.

Syria's government called the accusations "untrue rumors" Friday, according to state news agency SANA. Damascus accused Turkey and its partners of instigating rumors to make the government look bad internationally.

NATO has also said it detected what appeared to be ballistic missile launches within Syria and condemned their possible use as "utter disregard for the lives of the Syrian people."

Turkey and NATO insist the Patriot system would be used only for defense.

U.S. official: Syria uses Scud missiles against rebels

Al-Assad is 'weakening'

Al-Assad's departure is the dream of his opponents.

U.S. officials said the Syrian president's control is crumbling at an accelerating pace

"It's at its lowest point yet," said one senior US official with direct knowledge of the latest assessments. U.S. intelligence believes the decline has accelerated in recent weeks. "The trend is moving more rapidly than it has in the past."

The officials agreed to talk on the condition their names not be used because they were not authorized to discuss the information with the media.

U.S. officials said they believe al-Assad is still controlling some of his military forces and commanders. He and his top advisers are showing less ability to maintain control than they did six to eight months ago.

"There has been a strongly downward steady progression" in al-Assad's grip on power," said the senior U.S. official

The United States believes "the wall around him is slowly coming down," said the senior official of the strong inner circle around the Syrian president. "We are saying there are indicators there is weakening around Assad."

But there is no indication al-Assad is making plans to step down, the senior official and other administration officials said.

Syrian regime approaching collapse, NATO chief says

A second official said al-Assad and his commanders appear to be fully aware the opposition has made significant military gains in recent weeks and that al-Assad "is not out of it" in his understanding of the current situation.

Even with the rebel advances, loyalists in the Syrian military appear to be holding firm.

Much of the anti-Assad fighting force includes military defectors. There are signs that military defections at the commander level are slowing though the U.S. analysts are not sure why, the second U.S. official said.

"There is still regime control over the military despite the fact they recognize the opposition force has improved," said the second U.S. official said.

Syrian rebels, government battle

The Syrian civil war started in March 2011 when a government crackdown on civilian demonstrators morphed into a fight between the regime and rebels.

The conflict has seized the attention of world powers for months because of the relentless brutality and the specter of the Syrian government mulling the use of chemical weapons.

The war has a proxy element, with Sunni countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia backing the rebels and Shiite Iran backing the Alawite regime. The Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shiism.

More than 40,000 people have died in the war. The United Nations said on Friday that many Syrians will continue to be killed and maimed after the war ends because of deadly explosives placed in residential areas across the country.

The violence continued Friday, with at least 32 deaths recorded by the opposition Local Coordination Committees said.

CNN's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.

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Will Clinton testify on Libya next Thursday?

Updated: 1:42p.m. ET

The State Department assured Congress today that Hillary Clinton will indeed be ready to testify next Thursday on the recent violence in Benghazi, after suggesting yesterday that the report on which her testimony will be based might not be ready in time.

"The committees have announced the secretary will be on the Hill next Thursday, and so that's the plan," said Patrick Ventrell, the State Department's Acting Deputy Spokesperson, in a briefing today. "We've been cooperating with Congress extensively and will continue to do so."

Yesterday, after releases from both the House and Senate announced Clinton's planned testimony, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland suggested to reporters that the timing of her commitment was not set in stone, because the department's Accountability Review Board (ARB) had not yet finished the report surrounding the Libya attacks.

Nuland said Clinton remained committed to "consult with Congress" once the report was complete, but left the door open for Clinton to push the date back. 

"She has made clear that when the work is ready, she will go consult with Congress on it. And that's a commitment she's made, and she intends to keep it," said Nuland. But regarding announcements by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Clinton would testify before them next Thursday, she said: "The Hill has talked about a planning date on the calendar. That presumes that the ARB is finished. I don't have any dates - any schedule of the Secretary's to announce here. It's dependent upon events between now and then." 

Asked if the date had been set by Congress without consultation with the secretary, Nuland replied that the committees "obviously planned a date on the calendar" but reiterated "that is dependent on all of the work getting done between now and then."

She declined to say whether or not Clitnon's office had been consulted, but Steve Sutton, a spokesman for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells CBSNews.com the date was announced "only after State confirmed the time and date for Clinton's appearance with us." Jodi Seth, a spokeswoman for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the committee had "obviously not" scheduled the testimony without consulting with Clinton's office. Seth said Clinton's office had agreed to the date.

Today, Ventrell clarified that "the report will be done by early next week."

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At Least 27, Mostly Kids, Killed at Grade School

A heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school today, killing his mother and 26 others, mostly children, federal and state sources tell ABC News.

The gunman, identified as Ryan Lanza, 24, of New Jersey, was killed inside of the school.

In addition to the casualties at the school, a dead body was also found in his home, officials said. Sources said Lanza was armed with four weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest when he opened fire in the elementary school.

Among the dead was the gunman's mother, found in the school, sources told ABC News.

"The shooter is deceased inside the building," Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance said at a news conference. "The public is not in danger."

LIVE UPDATES: Newtown, Conn., School Shooting

Authorities initially believed that there were two gunmen and were searching cars around the school.

First grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, 29, locked her 14 students in a classroom 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."

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

President Obama was briefed on the shooting by FBI Director Robert Mueller.

It's unclear how many people have been shot, but 27 people, mostly children, are dead, multiple federal and state sources tell ABC News. That number could rise, officials said.

Shannon Hicks/The Newtown Bee

Connecticut School Shooting: White House Response Watch Video

Conn. Elementary School Shooting: Parent Interview Watch Video

Connecticut School Shooting: 3 Victims Hospitalized Watch Video

CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.

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. Today's carnage exceeds the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.

The Newtown shooting comes three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself.

Today's 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.

State Police received the first 911 call at 9:41 a.m. and immediately began sending emergency units from the western part of the state. Initial 911 calls stated that multiple students were trapped in a classroom, possibly with a gunman, according to a Connecticut State Police source.

Vance said that on-duty and off-duty officers swarmed to the school and quickly checked "every door, every crack, every crevice" in the building looking for the gunman and evacuating children.

A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school.

Three patients have been taken to Danbury Hospital, which is also on lockdown, according to the hospital's Facebook page.

"Out of abundance of caution and not because of any direct threat Danbury Hospital is under lockdown," the statement said. "This allows us simply to focus on the important work at hand."

Newtown Public School District secretary of superintendent Kathy June said in a statement that the district's schools were locked down because of the report of a shooting. "The district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff," she said.

State police sent SWAT team units to Newtown.

All public and private schools in the town were on lockdown.

"We have increased our police presence at all Danbury Public Schools due to the events in Newtown. Pray for the victims," Newtown Mayor Boughton tweeted.

State emergency management officials said ambulances and other units were also en route and staging near the school.

A message on the school district website says that all afternoon kindergarten is cancelled today and there will be no midday bus runs.

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Today on New Scientist: 14 December 2012

Global cuteness increased by discovery of new loris

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Time-travelling 3D tour shows birth of Eiffel Tower

Watch an ultra-realistic 3D reconstruction that lets you experience Paris through the ages

Warning, speedsters: you can't fool quantum radar

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Leaked IPCC report reaffirms dangerous climate change

Despite claims to the contrary, a leaked draft of next year's IPCC report on climate does not let us off the hook by blaming warming on the sun

Satellite upgrade should let planes slash emissions

Air traffic controllers will know exactly where planes are and could direct them to fly closer together along the best flight paths

Looks like we've got allergies all wrong

From pollen to peanuts, we humans are an allergic lot. So could it be that allergies serve an evolutionary purpose, ask Noah Palm and Ruslan Medzhitov

Mysterious star deaths are really mergers in disguise

A star that appeared to explode this year might actually have merged with another massive star - shedding light on the chemical make-up of the universe

Feedback: Healthscare insurance

The palaeontological love of poo, healthscare insurance, a fat-free cream conundrum, and more

AI designer learns to build games from scratch

An artificially intelligent video game designer, Angelina, has built a new festive game by adopting bits of existing games and tweaking its own early attempts

The end of race history? Not yet

Two books illuminate how ideas of a post-racial world conflict with ongoing use of race in science, says Osagie K. Obasogie

Touchpad steering wheel keeps eyes on the road

A head-up screen and a touchpad allow drivers to flick controls without having to look down at the dashboard or satnav

Permian mass extinction triggered by humble microbe

Was it a volcano? Was it a meterorite? No, a humble microbe wiped out 90 per cent of Earth's species 251 million years ago

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US concerned by China plane in Japan airspace

WASHINGTON: The United States Friday voiced concern after a Chinese state-owned plane breached Japanese airspace for the first time to overfly islands at the heart of a bitter row between the two nations.

"It's important to avoid actions that raise tensions and to prevent miscalculations that could undermine peace, security and economic growth in the region," State Department Acting Deputy Spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

Washington had raised its concerns with Beijing, he said, adding that the United States made clear that its "policy and commitments regarding the Senkaku Islands are long-standing and have not changed."

US officials had also talked to the Japanese government, he added.

Japan scrambled eight F-15 fighter jets Thursday after the first incursion by a Chinese state aircraft into Japanese airspace anywhere since Tokyo's military began monitoring in 1958, the Japanese defence ministry said.

Observers suggest the Chinese move was part of a Chinese campaign to create a "new normal" -- where its forces come and go as they please around islands that Beijing calls the Diaoyus, but Tokyo controls as the Senkakus.

The incident appeared to have passed off without any direct confrontation, and in Beijing, China's foreign ministry said the flight had been routine.

"China's maritime surveillance plane flying over the Diaoyu islands is completely normal," said spokesman Hong Lei.

"China requires the Japanese side to stop illegal activities in the waters and airspace of the Diaoyu islands," Hong said, adding they were "China's inherent territory since ancient times."

- AFP/jc

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