Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Petraeus quits: extramarital affair
Vol. 121, No. 270 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
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CHICAGO (AP) — Passengers on a plane that crash-landed in Poland last year when its landing gear failed to deploy have sued Boeing and the firm that inspected the airliner before it departed New Jersey, with one attorney saying his clients suffered severe emotional trauma from thinking they were about to die. - PAGE B4
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WASHINGTON (AP) — David Petraeus, the retired four-star general renowned for taking charge of the military campaigns in Iraq and then Afghanistan, abruptly resigned Friday as director of the CIA, admitting to an extramarital affair.
PASSENGERS SUE BOEING
November 10, 2012
David Petraeus testifies on Capitol Hill, Feb. 2.
The affair was discovered during an FBI investigation, according to officials briefed on the developments. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter. It was unclear what the FBI was investigating or when it became aware of the affair.
Petraeus’ resignation shocked Washington’s intelligence and political communities. It was a sudden end to the public career of the best-known general of the post 9/11 wars, a man sometimes mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate. His service was effusively praised Friday in statements from lawmakers of both parties.
Petraeus, who tur ned 60 on Wednesday, told CIA employees in a statement that he had met with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday and asked to be allowed to resign. On
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4th-graders fashion Hall of Honor Students at Washington Avenue Elementary School check out patriotic artwork created by fourth-graders to commemorate Veterans Day, Friday morning.
CHAUNTE’L POWELL RECORD STAFF WRITER
The fourth-grade hallway at Washington Avenue Elementary School looked more like a muse-
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Mike Brown on Friday after a 1-4 start to his second season in charge. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak announced the surprising move several hours before they hosted Golden State. Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach the Lakers against the Warriors while the club’s top brass searches for Brown’s replacement after just 18 months in charge. “The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace we expected this team to win, and we ... - PAGE B1
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um than a school Friday. Both sides of “The Fourth Grade Hall of Honor” were covered in pictures of soldiers spanning decades in American history. From black-and-white pic-
tures of World War II soldiers, to full-color photos of those in Iraq today, various branches and eras were represented. Penny Rodriquez, a fourth-
Pecos hosts service veterans
ago. He served in the Navy for three years and did three tours from 1965-67. He said coming back to the states wasn’t easy. “We got spat on, called names,” he said. “It was hard to adjust because people would look at you. When we got home, we immediately changed into civilian clothes at the airports because we didn’t want people hollering at us and calling us names.” Mark Wilson Photo The kindergarten Michael Murphy of the Patriot Guard shakes hands with through fifth-graders students at Pecos Elementary, Friday morning. made sure the vets felt highly respected Friday motorcycles toting large as they lined up around CHAUNTE’L POWELL American flags and were the bus lane and encirRECORD STAFF WRITER greeted by about 430 cled the veterans. They Jack Fox and several beaming faces all excited held banners and posters, other members of the Vet- to greet them: A drastic waved mini American erans Motorcycle Riders contrast to the reception flags all while wearing pulled up to Pecos Ele- he received upon returnmentary School on their ing from Vietnam decades See PECOS, Page A2
See HONOR, Page A2
Friday, the president accepted. Petraeus told his staffers he was guilty of “extremely poor judgment” in the affair. “Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.” He has been married for 38 years to Holly Petraeus, whom he met when he was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. She was the daughter of the academy superintendent. They have two children, and their son led an infantry platoon in
DC begins dance at fiscal cliff
See PETRAEUS, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — An economic calamity looming, President Barack Obama on Friday signaled willingness to compromise with Republicans, declaring he was not “wedded to every detail” of his taxand-spending approach to prevent deep and widespread pain in the new year. But he insisted his reelection gave him a mandate to raise taxes on wealthier Americans. “The majority of Americans agree with my approach,” said Obama, brimming with apparent confidence in his first White House statement since securing a second term. Trouble is, the Republicans who run the House plainly do not agree with his plans. Speaker John Boehner insisted that raising tax rates as Obama wants “will destroy jobs in America.” So began the “fiscal cliff” political maneuvering that will determine which elected power center — the White House or the House — bends more on its promises to voters. The outcome will affect tens of millions of Americans, given that the tax hikes and budgSee DANCE, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Students mix with the Patriot Guard to greet veterans as they arrive at Goddard High School for the annual Veterans Day Assembly, Friday afternoon.
Goddard holds annual Veterans Day Assembly NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
Goddard High School students provided a heroes’ welcome Friday for area
veterans at the school’s sixth annual Veterans Day Assembly, which received a representative from each of
Nancy Britton as busy now as before she retired Lend-A-Hand closes down
See GODDARD, Page A2
CHAUNTE’L POWELL RECORD STAFF WRITER
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Chaunte’l Powell Photo
Veteran Nancy Britton was one of the few military females in attendance at Goddard High’s Veterans Day Assembly, Friday.
Back in the late 1950s, women weren’t really seen working outside of the home, let alone serving in the military. Now picture a confident 18-year-old female, several shocked military men and you will get a glimpse into Nancy Britton’s life during that time. Britton enlisted in the Air Force directly after high school and worked as a postal administrator. She was the first female in the Air Force to work in this field. “The men didn’t know what to do with me then,” she said. “When I reported for duty, the guys kind of sneered at me because I was a female.” Despite the environment, she
did all the administrative work, pitched mail and worked behind the customer service window on Saturdays. She also hauled mail and helped with locator service, or helped get addresses filed when people moved. She recalls military life being much more strict than it is today. Barracks were separated by gender, but the training was completed by all. She said during basic See SPOTLIGHT, Page A3
In response to Lend-A-Hand shutting down after more than 30 years of service, vice-president Barbara Harris said there was some good that came out of the situation. “Basically we regret it,” she said. “But in a way it’s not entirely bad because so many of the organizations that came up when they first started are doing fairly well on their own.” She noted that fundraising ef forts were not generating enough money to sustain the organization.
See LEND, Page A2