Petraeus claims he never shared state secrets with mistress, calls affair 'dishonorable'

Former CIA chief David Petraeus insisted he never passed any state secrets to his mistress, and called his secret love life “something dishonorable,” according to a broadcast report today.

The disgraced spymaster spoke to Headline News reporter Kyra Phillips following his shocking resignation six days ago, over an extramarital affair he had with his biographer Paula Broadwell.

“[Petraeus] had told me he had engaged in something dishonorable. He sought to do the honorable thing in response,” according to Phillips, quoting the retired four-star general and former Afghanistan commander.

Via ipadbooklist.com

David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell

Petraeus also said his stunning resignation had nothing to do with the heat he and the White House have been feeling since terrorists attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Some Congressional Republicans have wondered out loud if Petraeus’ move was signed to dodge testimony about the attack that killed ambassador Craig Stevens and three other Americans.

“He has said this has nothing to do with Benghazi. He wants to testify. He will testify,” Phillips said.

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“He has maintained to me all along that this was a personal failing … he has made it very clear that this was an extramarital affair and not over classified information or Benghazi.”

The HLN reporter said she’s known Patraeus for years on the job, and they’ve worked closely on charitable efforts on behalf of military families.

“It’s been really disappointing and shocking,” Phillips said. “This is somebody of great discipline and great leadership and I never ever expected, of all the men and women I know in uniform, this is an individual that I would have never expected this to happen.”

Petraeus told Phillips that he hasn’t spoken to Broadwell since the scandal broke.

Petraeus’ insistence that he never passed secrets to Broadwell could contradict an ABC News report, that investigators found a substantial amount of classified information improperly secured on her personal computer.

The files were discovered on a machine removed from Broadwell’s Charlotte, NC, home as the feds investigated her sordid affair with the military commander whose biography she co-wrote, investigators told ABC News.

Investigators also found documents Broadwell admitted taking from secure government buildings, a source the network, adding the government demanded that they all be returned.

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Dream South Beach wins hotel design award

The Dream South Beach hotel, which opened in 2011, recently won an award for design at the New York International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show.

The hotel at 1111 Collins Ave., formerly the Tudor House and Palmer hotels, won the Gold Key Award for Best Guest Room Design. The ceremony was held Monday.

Designers were Kelly Ogden of Elk Collective and Michael Czysz of Architropolis.

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Police: 1 dead, 2 wounded in car shot up in Miami

One man was killed and two wounded in a shooting in Miami that left a car pocked with bullet holes.

Miami police responded to a call reporting shots fired at about 11:50 p.m. Monday at the corner of Northwest 11th Place and 43rd Street where they found a Nissan Altima with three young males inside.

The car was “shot up numerous times,” said Officer Kenia Reyes, Miami police spokeswoman.

One of the victims died on the scene and the others were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Unit. The second victim is listed in stable condition and the third was treated and released.

Several blocks away at Northwest 15th Avenue and 44th Street, police canvassed the area where they discovered gunshot casings. It’s not known yet if the incidents are related.

Reyes said the names of the victims are being withheld until the next of kin is notified.

Police have no suspects or motives so far and are asking anyone with information to call 305-471-TIPS (8477).

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Facebook stock up as lock-up expires on largest block of shares

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shares of Facebook Inc jumped 10 percent in early trading on Wednesday, even as the biggest block of shares held by insiders became eligible for sale for the first time since the social media company’s disappointing debut in May.

In heavy morning trading, Facebook gained $ 2.02 to $ 21.89.

“While the lock-up is expiring, there is nothing requiring anybody to sell,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. “Given the low price, these long-term holders are deciding to hold the stock and that is lifting it here as the fear of the expiration subsides.”

Roughly 800 million Facebook shares could begin trading on Wednesday after restrictions on insider selling were lifted on the biggest block of shares since the May initial public offering.

The lock-up expiration greatly expanded the 921 million-share “float” available for trading on the market until now.

Facebook, the world’s No. 1 online social network, became the only U.S. company to debut with a market value of more than $ 100 billion. But its value has dropped nearly 50 percent since the IPO on concerns about its long-term money-making prospects.

Insider trading lock-up provisions started to expire in August, and the rolling expirations have added to the pressure on Facebook’s stock.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said he didn’t expect Facebook insiders to sell all of their shares as the lock-ups expired.

“I would expect heavy volumes over the next few weeks, but not undigestible volumes,” said Wieser. By his estimates, roughly 486 million of the nearly 800 million newly freed Facebook shares will be sold.

There is some evidence that the heavy interest in shorting the stock was dissipating, given the poor performance since it first sold shares in May.

According to Markit’s Data Explorers, about 28 percent of the shares available for short-selling were being borrowed for that purpose, down from a high of more than 80 percent in early August.

Similarly, SunGard’s Astec Analytics, which also tracks interest in shorting, noted in a comment on Tuesday that the cost of borrowing Facebook shares is down more than 50 percent since the beginning of the month.

“Everything would seem to indicate the market is losing its appetite to short Facebook,” wrote Karl Loomes, market analyst at Astec.

Several members of Facebook’s senior management have sold millions of dollars worth of shares in recent weeks through pre-arranged stock trading plans as lock-up restrictions expired.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has sold roughly 530 million shares this month, netting just over $ 11 million, though she still owns roughly 20 million vested shares in Facebook.

In August, Facebook board member Peter Thiel sold roughly $ 400 million worth of Facebook stock, the majority of his stake, when an earlier phase of lock-up restrictions expired.

Facebook’s 28-year-old chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has committed to not sell any shares before September 2013.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Playing For Keeps Exclusive Clip

On December 7, Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dennis Quaid will kick it on the big screen with the release of Playing For Keeps, a new romantic comedy about a charming but down-on-his luck former soccer star (Butler) who returns home to put his life back together.

FIRST LOOK: Playing For Keeps

In attempting to rebuild his relationship with his son, Butler's character gets roped into coaching the boy's soccer team -- and as you can see in ETonline's exclusive first look clip, Butler can bend it like Beckham!

Playing For Keeps opens December 7.

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Army deciding if Bales' Afghan rampage will go to court-martial, defense calls case incomplete

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — As Army officials weigh whether a case against a staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a pre-dawn rampage will proceed to a court-martial, Robert Bales' defense team says the government's case is incomplete.

And outside experts say a key issue going forward will be to determine whether Bales, who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"There are a number of questions that have not been answered so far in this investigation," defense attorney Emma Scanlan told the investigating officer overseeing the preliminary hearing during closing arguments Tuesday.

AP

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales

Scanlan said that it's still unknown what Bales' state of mind was the evening of the killings. Prosecutors say Bales, 39, slipped away from his remote base at Camp Belambay in southern Afghanistan to attack two villages early on March 11. Among the dead were nine children.

An Army criminal investigations command special agent testified last week that Bales tested positive for steroids three days after the killings, and other soldiers testified that Bales had been drinking the evening of the massacre.

"We've heard that Sgt. Bales was lucid, coherent and responsive," Scanlan said in her closing argument. "We don't know what it means to be on alcohol, steroids and sleeping aids."

But prosecutors, in asking for a court-martial trial with the option of the death penalty, pointed to statements Bales made after he was apprehended, saying that they demonstrated "a clear memory of what he had done, and consciousness of wrong-doing."

Several soldiers testified that Bales returned to the base alone just before dawn, covered in blood, and that he made incriminating statements such as, "I thought I was doing the right thing."

The slayings drew such angry protests that the US temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan, and it was three weeks before American investigators could reach the crime scenes.

"Terrible, terrible things happened," said prosecutor, Maj. Rob Stelle. "That is clear."

The investigating officer said Tuesday that he would have a written recommendation by the end of the week, but that is just the start of the process. That recommendation goes next to the brigade command, and the ultimate decision would be made by the three-star general on the base. There's no clear sense of how long that could take before a decision is reached on whether to proceed to a court-martial trial.

If a court-martial takes place, it will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Washington state base south of Seattle, and witnesses would be flown in from Afghanistan.

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No touch screen? Stick with Windows 7

Q. I recently had to replace my 9-year-old Windows XP computer, and am having trouble adapting to Windows 7.

What are the advantages, if any, for me to upgrade to Windows 8, which I’ve read has touch-screen capability and works with other equipment besides desktop computers? Since I don’t have a touch screen, I’m wondering if there is any point in upgrading.

Peter Robinson Chaska, Minn.

Different versions of Windows 8 are being offered on PCs, tablet computers and smartphones. But in every case the new operating system is primarily aimed at people who are using touch-sensitive screens.

So unless you’re planning to buy a touch-screen device in connection with upgrading to Windows 8, you’re probably better off continuing to use Windows 7. By most accounts, using the touch-screen-oriented Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard is more difficult than using previous Windows versions with a mouse and keyboard.

In addition, if you find the changes in Windows 7 to be challenging, I suspect you won’t enjoy the more radical changes embodied in Windows 8 (i.e., much different start screen.)

I’m not saying you should never upgrade to Windows 8; just let Microsoft deal with some of these usability issues first.Q. I disagree with your warning to never click the unsubscribe link to put a stop to spam emails. Totally inundated with spam, I began unsubscribing and cut my spam down from more than 50 a day to one or two.

Some spam senders were more difficult to shake than others. I threatened a nonexistent Florida corporation that I would go to their state attorney general’s office, but never heard from them again. I gave a dental company a taste of their own medicine until they finally stopped sending me email. Others just took me off their lists pronto. It has been well worth the effort.

Deborah Gray Mitchell North Miami

Your strategy will work with legitimate companies and with spammers who can be located and threatened with legal action.

Unfortunately, most spam producers are neither legitimate nor traceable. When you respond to their emails, you confirm that yours is a working email address, and therefore fair game.

At the same time, you’ve essentially challenged some spammers to a duel, a risky business because they know your email address. Make sure you have a strong email password to prevent tampering.

Congratulations on your success, but I can’t recommend your approach to others.

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Florida man describes being shot by police Taser as he sprayed fire with garden hose

PINELLAS PARK --
The fire was all around Dan Jensen.

He could see it. He could smell it. He could hear it.

It was close enough to touch. It was burning down his neighbor's house. It was creeping toward Jensen's own fence 10 feet away, and he started spraying the fire with his hose.

Police ordered Jensen to get back, and he complied.

But after a few minutes passed without firefighters arriving, a frustrated Jensen stepped forward and leaned down to grab the skinny gray garden hose once again.

That's when he heard the order.

"Hit 'em! Take him down! Tase him!"

Within moments, Jensen was on the ground. He felt electric.

"It was all over me," Jensen said. "Crawling all over me."

The 42-year-old commercial fisherman is still struggling to comprehend exactly how things deteriorated so quickly Thursday. He said he doesn't understand why police shot him with a Taser that night as he tried to battle a house fire at 3420 Beechwood Ter. N.

Jensen's family, friends and neighbors have been quick to defend him and accuse police of crossing a line.

"It was wrong," he said. "There's no way around it. … I was fighting a fire. I wasn't fighting police. I thought they were here to help me. Instead, they hurt me."

Police said they can sympathize with the stress Jensen was under. But they said he put himself and officers in danger when he refused to back down from fighting the fire.

Pinellas Park Capt. Sanfield Forseth told the Tampa Bay Times authorities could have even charged Jensen with obstruction, but decided against it.

Jensen's attorney, Heidi Imhof, said she believes authorities are trying to deflect attention from their actions that night. She called the Taser use "excessive force."

"They can't just Taser anyone," she said. "He's an unarmed person on his private property trying to fight a fire."

Imhof said the officers had other options. They could have yanked Jensen away, she said, or just turned off the water.

The agency's policy says officers must issue a warning before using a Taser, "except when such warning could provide a tactical advantage to the subject."

Imhof said her client was never warned.

Jensen said he's "disappointed" in police.

He said that when they arrived on the scene, they told him to back off and let insurance take care of it. He did for a few minutes but grew impatient and irate. He picked up the hose again because he thought firefighters weren't getting there soon enough.

Officials told the Times it took six minutes for fire fighters to respond.

"That's my home," Jensen said Monday, his voice breaking. "That's my family."

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New Lumia phones seen winning Nokia more time

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia‘s new Lumia smartphones are trickling into the market and early signs suggest they may sell well enough to give the handset maker more time in its fight against industry leaders Samsung and Apple.

But investors shouldn’t expect a quick turnaround for the struggling Finnish cellphone maker, with rival gadgets like mini tablet computers vying for consumers’ attention, analysts said.

“Positive reviews are a great start but as we have seen many times before these won’t deliver strong sales volumes on their own,” said Pete Cunningham, an analyst at research firm Canalys.

Successful sales of the latest Lumia 920 and 820 models are crucial for Nokia’s survival. The former market leader is burning through cash while it loses share in both high-end smartphones and cheaper handsets.

FIM Securities analyst Michael Schroder forecast Nokia will sell 1-3 million of the new models this quarter. It sold 2.9 million older Lumia models in the third quarter, compared to Apple’s sales of around 26.6 million iPhones in the same period.

“In any case the uptake will not be massive,” he predicted.

Lumia’s sales could serve a verdict on Chief Executive Stephen Elop‘s decision in February 2011 to partner with Microsoft instead of using Google‘s Android or continuing to develop Nokia’s own operating system.

Investors had feared poor reviews and weak sales could bring an end to the company’s smartphone business early next year.

So far, consumer reviews seem to favor the feel and look of the new models, which include high-definition cameras and the latest Microsoft Windows Phone 8 software.

“It (the Lumia 920) is very similar in appearance to the Lumia 900, but has curved glass, rounded edges, and curved back so it feels great in your hand. It is a dense device, but if you look at all the pros and cons the heft is worth it,” said a reviewer for tech website ZDNet.

That’s an improvement from the market’s reaction when the new model was first unveiled. The shares slumped 13 percent that day with investors citing a lack of a “wow” factor.

MAKE OR BREAK

Nokia is taking a gradual approach to launching the phones, and availability is expected to vary by market for the next few weeks, compared with Apple’s iPhone models which usually go on sale on the same day to global fanfare.

“While we are very impressed with the hardware features of the Lumia 920 and the improved software functionality of Windows Phone 8, we believe a focused launch to drive steady sales growth is necessary,” said Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley.

In Canada, one of the earliest launch markets, carrier Rogers Communications has trained its sales staff more to sell the latest Lumias than the previous models, said John Boynton, Rogers’ executive vice president of marketing.

He predicted the phones would be popular with first-time smartphone users, thanks to homescreens with tile-like icons designed to help users navigate applications and functions.

“They’re a little nervous at some of the more complex smartphones that are out there,” he said. “The tile format is a really, really simplified way for people to get comfortable using smartphones.”

In France, retail staff have become more confident in explaining Windows Phones to their customers, according to Laurent Lame, devices marketing chief at SFR which is the country’s second-biggest mobile operator.

“They know the product better after six months of good sales of the Lumia 610,” Lame said, adding he was now more optimistic about the Nokia-Microsoft partnership. “For once, with Windows 8, we are not starting from zero.”

Telefonica Deutschland Chief Executive Rene Schuster said he was “very, very pleased” with the early progress of Lumia sales.

Some retailers were more cautious, however, and in some cities there were no demonstration models for customers to test.

A salesman in an O2 store at the Zeil, Frankfurt’s busiest shopping area, said the store could take orders for the phone but could not show it. Demand was “okay, but not huge,” he said.

Analysts also expect tough competition during the pre-Christmas shopping season from the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S III and Apple’s iPhone 5. Taiwan’s HTC has also introduced smartphones running Windows Phone 8 software.

Other rival gadgets include Apple’s iPad mini as well as cheaper tablets from Google and Amazon.

The stakes could not be higher for Nokia’s Elop, who said in February 2011 the company’s transition would take two years.

“This is absolutely a make-or-break phone for the Windows Phone strategy,” FIM Securities’ Schroder said. “If it fails, they have to take a whole new course.” (Additional reporting by Allison Martell in Toronto, Leila Abboud in Paris, Harro Ten Wolde in Frankfurt and Tarmo Virki in Helsinki; Editing by Mark Potter)

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Keira Knightley Topless For Allure Magazine

Keira Knightley has been battling eating disorder rumors since her Love Actually days, but that didn't stop the Anna Karenina star from posing topless for Allure magazine.

"I'm quite rigorous about what gets exposed. No bottom half!" Knightley says of her nudity rules. "I don't mind exposing my t*ts because they're so small -- people really aren't that interested."

RELATED: How Does Keira Choose Her Sexy Roles?

She adds, "For King Arthur, for a poster, they gave me these really strange droopy t*ts. I thought, 'Well, if you're going to make me fantasy breasts, at least make perky breasts.'"

So, how much skin is too much skin for this British beauty? "I think it's much easier as you get older," the 27-year-old actress admits. "You can say, 'No.' 'Yes.' 'No.'"

RELATED: Inside the Anna Karenina Wardrobe

As for the criticism about her small frame, Knightley confesses that the eating disorder gossip does bother her. "The anorexic stuff -- all of that -- it's always going to have an impact, so I think it did hit pretty hard. Because you go, 'Oh, maybe that's right!' I knew I wasn't anorexic, but maybe my body is somehow not right. Or my face is not right. Or the way I speak is not right. When you're going through a period where you're really getting a lot of criticism, you go, 'Maybe all this is right! You just kind of want to hide it all.'"

The acclaimed actress will take on yet another period piece when Anna Karenina hits theaters Friday, Nov. 16.

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