Pakistan enraged over attack on teen blogger

The Taliban shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai for blogging against them was so brazen it commanded the attention of many in a country weary of extremist attacks.

An angry chorus of voices in social media, the street, in newspapers and over the airwaves has decried the attack as cowardly and an example of a government unable to cope with militants.

"I blame the Taliban, first and foremost," columnist Sami Shah wrote in The Express Tribune, a local English daily. "I blame the government. All of it."

Malala was slowly recuperating Wednesday after surgeons worked for three hours to removed a bullet lodged in her neck.

On Tuesday, Taliban militants stopped a van carrying three girls, including Malala, on their way home from school in northwestern Pakistan's conservative Swat Valley.

One of the gunmen asked which one was Malala Yousufzai. When the girls pointed her out, the men opened fire. The bullets struck all three girls.

For two of them, the injuries were not life-threatening. For Malala, it was touch-and-go for a while.

"We are happy that she survived, but are worried too about her health condition," said her uncle, Faiz Muhammad, who is with her at a military hospital in Peshawar.

On Wednesday, police took the van driver and the school guard into custody for questioning. They also said they'd identified the culprits.

Meanwhile, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and issued an ominous threat.

"If she survives this time, she won't next time," said a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban. "We will certainly kill her."

Mian Iftikhar Hussein, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa information minister, said he was declaring a bounty of $100,000 for the capture of the culprits in the attempt on Malala Yousufzai's life.

Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Malala in the hospital and delivered a simple message: "We refuse to bow before terror." He also noted that the Taliban lack respect for the "golden words" of the Prophet Mohammed -- "that the one who is not kind to children is not amongst us."

"In attacking Malala, the terrorists have failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage and hope," the general said.

The chief minister of Punjab said he would bear the cost of Malala's treatment, calling her "the daughter of Pakistan."

The head of PIA, the national airline, said he was putting a plane on standby to take the teenager "anywhere in the world if needed" for treatment. Two neurosurgeons, one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom, have also offered to fly to Pakistan if needed, the interior minister said.

Throughout the country and around the world, Pakistanis, hurt and angry, prayed.

"Malala is what Taliban will never be," said Murtaza Haider, the associate dean of research and graduate programs at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto's Ryerson University, in an opinion piece in the Dawn newspaper.

"She is fearless, enlightened, articulate, and a young Muslim woman who is the face of Pakistan and the hope for a faltering nation that can no longer protect its daughters."

"If the Taliban wants to fight then they should pick on someone there own size," a girl said on a local news channel.

Shamila Chaudhary, a former U.S. National Security Council director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told CNN the incident reverberates among women and girls and even conservative Muslims.

"The Pakistani Taliban don't have a lot of support in the Pakistani society," she said. "They don't offer social services and justice, they don't offer any alternative to weak government."

This latest incident "makes them more unpopular" among masses of people who view the aspirations of Malala and the Taliban's resistance to them as a "fight between good and evil," said Chaudhary, a senior South Asia fellow at the New America Foundation.

Twitter, the closest thing to a barometer of public opinion, likewise lit up.

"Wasn't the brute who put a gun to Malala's little head born to a woman?" wrote Kamran Shafi. "Did he have sisters, aunts, a wife or four? Bloody filthy terrorist!"

Pakistan's picturesque Swat Valley was once one of Pakistan's biggest tourist destinations.

The valley, near the Afghanistan border and about 186 miles (300 km) from the capital city of Islamabad, boasted the country's only ski resort. It was a draw for trout-fishing enthusiasts and visitors to the ancient Buddhist ruins in the area. But that was before, militants -- their faces covered with dark turbans -- unleashed a wave of violence.

They demanded veils for women, beards for men and a ban on music and television. They allowed boys' schools to operate, but closed those for girls.

It was in this climate that Malala reached out to the outside world through her online blog posts.

She took a stand by writing about her daily battle with extremist militants who used fear and intimidation to force girls to stay at home.

Malala's online writing led to her being awarded Pakistan's first National Peace Prize in November.

"I was scared of being beheaded by the Taliban because of my passion for education," Yousufzai told CNN at the time. "During their rule, the Taliban used to march into our houses to check whether we were studying or watching television."

She said that she wanted to be a political leader, that her country "needs honest and true leaders."

The Taliban controlled Malala's valley for years until 2009, when the military cleared it in an operation that also evacuated thousands of families.

But pockets remain, and violence is never far behind.

For Pakistani public officials, Chaudhary said, the incident serves as a reminder of the Taliban's ends -- keeping girls from going to school and imposing hardline religious and cultural values.

Many are in denial and haven't accepted "the extent the Taliban will go to impose their cultural values."

There have been other examples of violence against women, Chaudhary recalls, including the Taliban flogging of a woman caught on video a few years ago.

That was "a trigger event -- it pulled a lot of the political elite out of their denial," she said. "I see this instance as something similar."

Chaudhary said there's a misconception across the world that the political elite sympathize with the Taliban.

That's untrue, she said. They are scared of them and the possibility of violent retribution against officials and government installations. If the government doesn't talk about this latest issue and have justice served, it will be a "step back," she said.

Sami Shah, the columnist, said the ruling Pakistan People's Party shares blame.

"There can be a million excuses why the Taliban can still operate with impunity in Pakistan, a lot of them legitimate. But if you are the ruling party, then you must accept responsibility for your failures. And the PPP has resoundingly failed."

By Saeed Ahmed, Nasir Habib and Joe Sterling, CNN, October 10, 2012

Rand Paul: Romney's wrong on Middle East, defense spending

This week, I will campaign for Gov. Mitt Romney. I believe this election will and should be about moving America back from the edge of the abyss on which we stand, where our debt and spending threaten to overwhelm and drown us. Romney's belief in free markets, limited government and trade make him the clear choice to lead our country come January.

I do not, however, support a call for intervention in Syria. And, if such intervention were being contemplated, it is absolutely necessary that Congress give any such authority to the president. No president, Republican or Democrat, has the unilateral power to take our nation to war without the authority of the legislature.

At times, I have been encouraged by Romney's foreign policy. I agree with his call to end the war in Afghanistan sooner rather than later and with his skepticism of, and call for reform in, foreign aid, but I am a bit dismayed by his foreign policy speech Monday, titled "Mantle of Leadership."

Romney chose to criticize President Obama for seeking to cut a bloated Defense Department and for not being bellicose enough in the Middle East, two assertions with which I cannot agree.

Defense and war spending has grown 137% since 2001. That kind of growth is not sustainable.

Adm. Michael Mullen stated earlier this year that the biggest threat to our national security is our debt.

If debt is our gravest threat, adding to the debt by expanding military spending further threatens our national security.

While I would always stand up for America and preserve our ability to defend ourselves, a less aggressive foreign policy along with an audit of the Pentagon could save tens of billions of dollars each year without sacrificing our defense. To dismiss either idea is to miss the very compromise that will enable us to balance our budget. That compromise would be for conservatives to admit that not every dollar spent on the military is sacred or well-spent and for liberals to admit that not every dollar spent on domestic entitlements and welfare is necessary.

In North Africa and the Middle East, our problem has not been a lack of intervention. In the past 10 years we have fought two full wars there, and bombed or sent troops into several others.

This past year, President Obama illegally began a war with Libya, taking sides with the rebels to unseat an admittedly bad man in Moammar Gadhafi. There were several problems with this policy: First, the president did not seek or get the necessary constitutional authority from Congress for this military action. If our Constitution is to mean anything it must be applied even in times of war, when those seeking to exercise power do not find it expedient.

Just as importantly, the Libyan rebels were assisted with virtually no one in the administration or in Congress demanding to know who these people were that we were arming and propping up. No one seemed to understand that in toppling Libya's dictatorship, we were leaving in its wake an unformed, unorganized government without a centralized structure, one that would have a difficult time keeping order among the more than 100 tribes that make up Libya.

This "act first, think later" foreign policy has real consequences. We've seen our embassies and consulates stormed in more than one country. Our diplomats and security team were killed. Our flag is being burned, our country mocked.

The proper response to this would be to step back and think of whether we really need to be involved in these countries in the way we have been. Instead, both parties rush headlong into more places they don't understand, exemplified Monday by Romney urging action to arm Syrian rebels and topple President Bashar al-Assad.

But just who are these rebels? What will they do when in power? Is this really in our vital national interest?

We've been 10 years in Afghanistan and we can't identify friend from foe. Do you think we can, with certainty, identify friend and foe in Syria?

Before taking our country closer to war, shouldn't we at least ask the viewpoint of the significant Christian population in Syria? News reports indicate they are wary of the rebels and are either sitting the fight out or siding with al-Assad. Al-Assad is by no means a saint but Christians flocked to Syria from a war-torn Iraq because they feared al-Assad less than the Islamic government we brought into being.

Before getting deeply involved, should someone ask: Are these rebels going to be implementing the death penalty for criticism of Islam?

There is ample evidence the rebels are being funded and armed by the most extreme Islamist elements and governments in the region. Is that where we want our funds and weapons to end up? We need to stop and think before we act.

I am not an isolationist or a pacifist. I heartily reject both labels. I believe in engagement in the world, with trade, commerce, diplomacy and a foreign policy that projects the greatness of America and her people. I would not hesitate to vote to send American troops to war to protect our country and our vital national security interests.

But we are in too many places, too often, and we don't seem to even know the reason -- or where we will end up when we're done. This foreign policy has created more enemies than it has vanquished. It has siphoned trillions of America's dollars. It has cost tens of thousands of casualties in the loss of the lives and limbs of our soldiers.

We owe it to ourselves, our soldiers and our children to take a more careful look at our foreign policy, to not rush into war, and to not attempt to score political points with wrongheaded policy ideas.

By Rand Paul, Special to CNN, October 10, 2012

Americans win Nobel Prize in chemistry for revealing gateway to cells

Two American scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work revealing protein receptors that tell cells what is going on in and around the human body. Their achievements have allowed drug makers to develop medication with fewer side effects.

Research spanning four decades by Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka on "G-protein-coupled receptors" has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals in the bloodstream and external stimuli like light, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the prize.

Lefkowitz began the research by tracking adrenalin receptors. The Nobel Prize announcement apparently set off some of the excitement hormone in his own body.

"I'm feeling very, very excited," he said in a predawn phone call from the United States to the committee in Stockholm, Sweden, which announced the winners at 5:45 a.m. ET.

"Did I even have any inkling that it was coming?" Lefkowitz said. "I'd have to say no."

He contacted Kobilka via a Skype video call to celebrate the news after receiving the call from the Nobel committee.

Lefkowitz, with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, began tracking cell receptors with radioactive substances in 1968.

In the 1980s, Kobilka, from Stanford University School of Medicine in California, joined the research to isolate the human gene that produces the adrenalin receptor, the academy said.

"Kobilka achieved another break-through" in 2011, the academy said in a news release: a photographic image of a hormone triggering a receptor to send an impulse into its cell.

"This image is a molecular masterpiece -- the result of decades of research," the academy said.

Humans experience G-protein-coupled receptors most consciously when they smell, see and taste, the academy explained in a background document. But within the body, they sense "signaling substances, such as adrenalin, serotonin, histamine and dopamine."

"They serve as the gateway to the cells," Lefkowitz said.

"Around half of all medications act through these receptors, among them beta blockers, antihistamines and various kinds of psychiatric medications," the academy explained.

In the case of adrenalin -- known in science as epinephrine -- receptors in cells of the heart make it beat faster and receptors in muscle cells signal them to activate to mobilize a person's strength.

Newly anointed Nobel Laureate Lefkowitz can use the energy boost.

"I'm thinking that this is going to be a very hectic day," he said. "I was going to get a haircut," he revealed, triggering laughter at the academy, as he explained that he really felt he needed one. "But I'm afraid it will probably have to be postponed."

Nobel Prizes in chemistry have gone to predominantly to organic (or carbon-based) chemistry, particularly to discoveries in the area of life sciences, such as genetics.

This year's monetary award will be 8 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million). This represents a drop of 20%, compared with last year, from 10 million Swedish kronor, and is due to the turbulence that has hit financial markets.

Last year, Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology won the award for the discovery of quasicrystals, which was made in 1982 and "fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter," according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

On Tuesday, the academy bestowed Nobel honors in physics on Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of the United States for their work in quantum optics that allowed scientists to observe the workings of atoms without disturbing their properties. As a side effect, their work lays down principles that could lead to quantum computers, which are astronomically fast computers that would radically change human life, if ever invented.

On Monday, the Nobel Assembly awarded the prize for physiology or medicine to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka jointly for their discovery that stem cells can be made of mature cells and need not necessarily be taken from fetuses or embryos.

The committee also will announce prizes in literature, peace and economics.

Since 1901, the committee has handed out the Nobel Prize in chemistry 103 times. In certain years, mainly during World Wars I and II, no prize in chemistry was awarded.

The youngest recipient was Frederic Joliot, who won in 1935 at the age of 35. The oldest chemistry laureate was John B. Fenn, who was 85 when he received the prize in 2002.

Frederic Sanger was the only scientist to win the chemistry prize twice for his work related to the structure of proteins and DNA.

There is a fine line between the science of chemistry and the fields of physics and biology. Famed female scientist Marie Curie of France, for example, won Nobel honors for her work in radiophysics in 1903 and then again in 1911 for discoveries in radiochemistry.

By Ben Brumfield, CNN, October 10, 2012

Florida man dies after winning roach-eating contest

A 32-year-old man downed dozens of roaches and worms to win a python at a Florida reptile store, then collapsed and died outside minutes later.

Edward Archbold was among 20 to 30 contestants participating in Friday night's "Midnight Madness" event at Ben Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach, authorities said.

The participants' goal: consume as many insects and worms as they could to take home a $850 python.

Archbold swallowed roach after roach, worm after worm. While the store didn't say exactly how many Archbold consumed, the owner told CNN affiliate WPLG that he was "the life of the party."

"He really made our night more fun," Ben Siegel told the station.

Soon after the contest was over, Archbold fell ill and began to vomit, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

A friend called for medical help. Then, Archbold himself dialed 911, the store said in a Facebook post.

Eventually, he fell to the ground outside the store, the sheriff's office said. An ambulance took him to North Broward Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The Broward Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and are awaiting test results to determine the cause of his death.

No other contestant fell ill, the sheriff's office said.

"Very saddened by this. I mean, it was a shock," Siegel told WPLG. "Eddie was a very nice guy. We just met him that night, but everybody that works here was very fond of him."

Luke Lirot, who says he is legally representing the store, said in a post on the store's Facebook page that all participants "signed thorough waivers accepting responsibility for their participation in this unique and unorthodox contest."

"The consumption of insects is widely accepted throughout the world, and the insects presented as part of the contest were taken from an inventory of insects that are safely and domestically raised in a controlled environment as food for reptiles," Lirot said.

In the wild, cockroaches are scavengers that pick up various bacterial organisms such as salmonella while walking through spoiled food, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene explains on its website.

Cockroaches themselves don't transmit disease, though "many disease-causing organisms can grow and multiply in their guts and can then be deposited ... during defecation."

Pharaoh Gayles was one of those who took part in the contest. He explained his reasoning to CNN affiliate WPTV.

"Some of the snakes were pretty expensive," he said. "I thought if I could eat the bugs to get one, it'd be a good idea."

By Greg Botelho, CNN, October 9, 2012

Romney to assert strong U.S. role in world affairs

Mitt Romney will assert a traditional U.S. foreign policy based on exerting influence through military and economic power in a major speech on Monday two weeks before he debates President Barack Obama on international issues.

In the address at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney will argue that Obama is failing to provide the global leadership needed and expected by the rest of the world, especially key allies like Israel.

"I believe that if America does not lead, others will -- others who do not share our interests and our values -- and the world will grow darker for our friends and for us," Romney will say, according to excerpts released by his campaign. "America's security and the cause of freedom cannot afford four more years like the last four years."

In specific policy examples included in the excerpts, Romney will call for the United States to join allies in ensuring that rebels fighting government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad get military hardware. However, he will stop short of calls by some conservatives for Washington to directly arm the rebels.

"In Syria, I will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad's tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets," Romney will say, according to the excerpts.

He will note that Iran is sending weaponry to Assad's forces "because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for them."

"We should be working no less vigorously with our international partners to support the many Syrians who would deliver that defeat to Iran -- rather than sitting on the sidelines," Romney will say, according to the excerpts. "It is essential that we develop influence with those forces in Syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the Middle East."

The Obama administration has limited direct aid so far to non-lethal support such as communication equipment. Administration officials have expressed concern about giving weapons to a disparate group of rebels for fear that arms could fall into the hands of terrorists.

Romney also will criticize Obama's overall approach to the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to the excerpts, he will argue that last month's attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others "should not be seen as random."

Instead, Romney will say the violence "was likely the work of the same forces that attacked our homeland on September 11th, 2001," according to the excerpts.

The recent assault in Benghazi, which took place on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington by al Qaeda, is under investigation by U.S. officials, with no formal word yet on exactly who was behind it.

In the United States, the intelligence community believes it was "a deliberate and organized terrorist assault carried out by extremists" affiliated with or sympathetic to al Qaeda.

While the released excerpts show that Romney will seek to distinguish himself from Obama on foreign policy, specific proposals he has discussed so far have been similar to what the administration is doing.

For example, he has called for ending military operations in Afghanistan by the end of the 2014, the same date set by Obama and NATO, and warned of unspecified steps to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Obama has said all options remain on the table for preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon.

In one distinction, Romney will say Monday that under his leadership, "the United States and our friends and allies will prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons capability," which differs from Obama's pledge to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

Nuclear capability refers to the process of being able to develop a nuclear weapon -- a lower threshold than Obama's reference -- and Romney's language matches that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the issue.

Polls show Obama gets higher marks than Romney on foreign policy, and the former Massachusetts governor hurt his international credentials on a three-nation trip this summer that included a high-profile gaffe in which he questioned London's preparedness to host the Olympics.

Romney also angered Palestinian leaders with a reference to cultural differences as a reason for differing levels of prosperity between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Seeking to remind voters of those events, the Obama campaign released a new ad in Virginia that accused the Republican challenger as "reckless" and "amateurish" on international affairs.

The 30-second spot features critical news clips of what the commercial calls Romney's "gaffe-filled" trip to England, Israel and Poland.

Romney also faced negative headlines over his quick response to the Benghazi consulate attack. Soon after word broke of the violence, the GOP nominee fired off a statement that was criticized as inaccurate and premature.

"If this is how he handles the world now," the narrator in the new ad says, "just think what Mitt Romney might do as president."

Responding to the ad, a Romney campaign spokeswoman said Obama was the one who had "weakened" the U.S. standing in the world.

On Sunday, Romney's foreign policy director, Alex Wong, told reporters that the candidate's foreign policy seeks to continue the traditional U.S. role in global affairs dating back to the end of World War II.

"Mitt Romney's vision is to restore influence and to support our friends and allies to move the Middle East onto a path of greater liberty, greater stability, and greater prosperity," Wong said. "It's a restoration of a strategy that served us well for over 70 years."

Referring to the U.S. perspective after World War II, Wong said that "we saw the need to have a military that no one would challenge." He also cited the need to have strategic allies around the world as part of what he called a full spectrum of power "so we do not have to face again the horrors of war."

Romney and Obama will debate foreign policy on October 22 in Florida following their second debate in New York on October 16. On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden and Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, will hold their only debate of the campaign.

By Tom Cohen, CNN, October 8, 2012

Obama to honor iconic Latino activist with new monument

President Obama will make modern history Monday when he announces the creation of a monument to honor the late labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.

The Cesar E. Chavez National Monument will become the 398th park in the National Park Service system, and the first since the 1700s to honor a Latino, the park service told CNN.

The move comes less than a month before Election Day, as the president maintains a strong lead among Latinos. A big turnout among Latino supporters in states where the race is close could help Obama win reelection against GOP challenger Mitt Romney.

The president will speak at a ceremony in Keene, California, on land known as Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz, where, from the 1970s until the early '90s, Chavez lived and led his farm worker movement.

"Cesar Chavez gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere," Obama said in a statement. "La Paz was at the center of some of the most significant civil rights moments in our nation's history, and by designating it a national monument, Chavez's legacy will be preserved and shared to inspire generations to come."

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 30 Latino organizations, lauded the move.

Chavez, who died in 1993, embodied the principle "that individuals can accomplish more as a community than they ever could on their own," said Hector E. Sanchez, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, in a statement put out by the leadership agenda.

The monument includes 120 acres, National Park Service spokesman David Barna said.

It will encompass property that includes a visitor's center, the United Farm Workers' legal aid offices, Chavez's home with his wife, Helen, a memorial garden containing his grave, and other buildings, the White House said.

Barna said no sculpture is planned.

The monument, in the Tehachapi Mountains, is the fourth designated by Obama under the Antiquities Act.

Obama's decision to set aside the land as a national monument also sends a political message to environmentalists -- a key group of voters, as many strongly supported him in 2008.

The League of Conservation Voters, which endorsed Obama in 2008 and for his current White House run, has not always been happy with the president's environmental record. As debate raged in 2011 over air quality regulations and proposed construction of a transcontinental oil pipeline, LCV President Gene Karpinski said the administration had been "caving" to industry.

On Monday, LCV spokesman Jeff Gohringer said establishing the Chavez monument stands as "further proof of President Obama's commitment to our special places across the country and we hope he continues to use that authority."

The Chavez family donated certain properties to the federal government so that the monument could be created.

Beginning Tuesday, the park service will take steps to prepare it as an official site, Barna said.

It will become "one of those places that everyone should visit," he said, "part of our shared cultural heritage."

The land includes property that was once Chavez's home, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called him "one of the heroes of the 20th century."

Paul F. Chavez, president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, said at the time, "For my father, La Paz was a personal refuge from bitter struggles in agricultural valleys and big cities, a spiritual harbor where he recharged batteries, drew fresh inspiration and prepared for the battles ahead. It was a place where many dedicated people spent years of their lives working with Cesar Chavez for social justice, inspiring generations of Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to social and political activism."

Ruben Navarrette, a CNN.com contributor, wrote a column last year noting that many sites around the country are named for Chavez, and suggesting that that "campaign" may have run its course.

Still, he wrote, Chavez "was a great American who helped bring fairness and dignity to the fields and the workers who toil there. Before Chavez and the union came along, there were no collective bargaining rights for farm workers, no toilets or clean drinking water in the fields, and little public awareness about pesticides and other dangers that workers must endure to put fruits and vegetables on our table. He helped change all that."

By Josh Levs, CNN, October 8, 2012

Campus officer kills naked freshman at South Alabama

Authorities in Mobile, Alabama, are investigating why a University of South Alabama police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old freshman who they say was naked and acting erratically outside the campus police station early Saturday.

The campus officer heard a loud banging noise on a window at the station at 1:23 a.m. CT (2:23 a.m. ET) Saturday, the university said in a statement. When he left the station to investigate, the school said, "he was confronted by a muscular, nude man who was acting erratically."

The man, later identified as Gilbert Thomas Collar, of Wetumpka, Alabama, repeatedly rushed and verbally challenged the officer in a fighting stance, the school said.

The officer, whose name hasn't been released, drew his weapon and ordered Collar to stop, the school said. The officer retreated several times to try to calm the situation.

"When the individual continued to rush toward the officer in a threatening manner and ignored the officer's repeated commands to stop, the officer fired one shot with his police sidearm, which struck the chest of the assailant," the school statement said. "The individual fell to the ground, but he got up once more and continued to challenge the officer further before collapsing and expiring."

Campus police immediately contacted the district attorney's office to request an external investigation, and the Mobile County Sheriff's Department will assist, the school said.

The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of internal and external investigations, the school said.

School spokesman Keith Ayers called it a "campus tragedy" for the university family but offered no other details, citing the active investigation.

The University of South Alabama, located in Mobile, enrolls about 15,000 students.

Wetumpka, located just north of Montgomery in the middle of the state, has nearly 8,000 residents.

By Melissa Gray, CNN, October 7, 2012

Smartphone of the future will be in ysour brain

In the past 10 years we've seen cell phones transform into electronic Swiss army knives with a wild variety of functions and features. They are replacing the watch, the camera, the standalone GPS, the alarm clock, and many other tools.

But what will the smartphones of the future look like?

Here's what we envision ...

In five years, the Patent Wars are over and Apple emerges victorious. The company has trademarks of many design features, including many types of curves. As a result, competing smartphone manufacturers resort to triangular or angular forms.

Fast forward 15 years. With Google's pioneering work, smartphones evolve into wearable devices with augmented reality. These smartglasses provide a constant stream of content and advertisement directly into the user's field of vision.

After the fad of wearable phone glasses, companies go mad with miniaturization in 25 years. Technology allows for extreme miniaturization and phones become single use, disposable devices.

50 years later, wearable phones make a comeback in the form of wristbands. The wristphone, as it is commonly known, is customized to fit each user's arm perfectly. It includes state-of-the-art voice-command features as well as holographic component that let you chat with your friends as though they are right next to you.

Technology takes a huge leap in 75 years. Microchip can be installed directly in the user's brain. Apple, along with a handful of companies, makes these chips. Thoughts connect instantly when people dial to "call" each other. But there's one downside: "Advertisements" can occasionally control the user's behavior because of an impossible-to-resolve glitch. If a user encounters this glitch -- a 1 in a billion probability -- every piece of data that his brain delivers is uploaded to companies' servers so that they may "serve customers better."

In the year 2112, civilization crumbles because of climate change and dramatic loss of natural resources. Communication comes full circle as dialogue between humans revert to individuals throwing rocks at each other. But rest assured -- people still laugh out loud.

By Stewart Scott-Curran and Tim Lampe, Special to CNN

Turkey warns Syria future attacks 'will be silenced

Residents of a Turkish border town hid inside their homes Saturday after three Syrian shells landed inside Turkey in separate incidents amid fierce fighting in Syria.

The shelling prompted Turkish forces to return fire as clashes between the two neighbors entered a fourth day, according to government and semi-official media reports.

As Turkish forces deployed along the border, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned that "any future attack on Turkey from anywhere will be silenced," according to the semi-official Anadolu Agency news service.

The Syrian shells hit outside two villages in Hatay province, the provincial government said in statements.

One shell landed about 50 meters (164 feet) into Turkey. In the second incident, a shell landed about 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) into Turkey, between a Turkish village and a border post, the provincial government said.

In both cases, authorities believe Syrian troops were firing on rebel forces stationed near the border.

The Anadolu Agency news service said three shells had been fired Saturday into Turkish territory.

Turkish border troops retaliated, firing twice into Syrian territory, the Hatay government said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressed concern about the cross-border activity.

"The fact is, there is a war going on in Syria between the opposition and the regime forces, and it's one that has cost a large number of lives," he told reporters in Lima, Peru. "Whether or not that conflict begins to extend into the neighboring countries such as Turkey remains to be seen, but obviously the fact that there are now exchanges of fire between these two countries raises additional concerns that this conflict could broaden."

The shelling comes amid fighting between rebel and regime forces over the nearby Syrian border village of Khirbet al-Jouz. Rebel forces captured the village Saturday after seven hours of fighting, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

At least 40 Syrian soldiers and nine rebels were killed in clashes in Khirbet al-Jouz and in the Jisr al-Shughur countryside, in Idlib province, the group said.

Residents across the border in Turkey could see and hear gunfire from the fighting, and government officials took to village loudspeakers to warn residents not to go outside.

"How can we not be afraid? Listen you can hear the gun-fighting," said resident Hamza Tuncer.

Tuncer said he helped carry the bodies of two dead fighters into the village.

One was a fighter who suffered a foot wound but decided to return to the battle, Tuncer said.

"That's when he got shot in the head," he said.

In addition to the shelling, fires from forests burned in the conflict have spread to the Turkish side of the border, leaving the air filled with smoke, resident Turhan Tomak said.

"We have no forest left. It hurts my insides. All our forests are gone," Tomak said.

The back-and-forth shelling between Syrian and Turkish forces began Wednesday when a shell fired from Syria hit the Turkish town of Akcakale, killing five civilians and injuring nine others.

Davutoglu said he was certain the shells that hit Turkey on Saturday came from the Syrian army because it is a type used only by that country's forces.

His warning against Syria comes amid a buildup of forces along the Syrian border. Armored units have deployed to several areas along the border, the Anadolu Agency reported.

The Turkish parliament has approved a resolution allowing military forces to deploy abroad, but government officials have said they do not want war with Syria, once a close ally.

But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Syria not to escalate tensions.

"It would be a deadly mistake to test Turkey's deterrence, determination and capacity," he said.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the shelling and appealed for restraint from both countries.

Before Saturday's incidents, Syria's U.N. Ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, said his country "is not seeking any escalation with any of its neighbors, including Turkey."

Rebels report a potentially key 'capture'

In addition to the fighting over Khirbet al-Jouz, government and rebel forces clashed near Damascus, Aleppo and other cities. Heavy fighting was reported in the western province of Homs, where fighting and shelling left 24 people dead, according to activists.

Nationwide, at least 110 people died in fighting Saturday, the opposition Local Coordinating Committees said.

Meanwhile, the al-Farouq brigade, one of the rebel groups operating in Homs, claimed on its Facebook page to have captured 1st Lt. Housam Assad and two of his aides. The military commander of that brigade, Abu Sayeh Jenaidi, appeared on Al Jazeera and said the detainee claims to be a direct relative of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Housam Assad is wounded, but in stable condition, the military commander said.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims by al-Farouq brigade, nor the relationship that Housam Assad may have with the Syrian president.

Syrian defense ministers says security forces are more determined than ever to restore peace

Defense Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij spoke Saturday on state TV, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said.

"Our armed forces today are more resolved to restore security and stability to Syria and cut off the hand of whoever tries to harm it and eliminate the remnants of defeated terrorists wherever they are," SANA reported he said.

Al-Freij was named minister after his predecessor was killed in July.

He noted, also, that "the homeland's door is still open to all its sons, including those who were misled and want to go back on track under the homeland's umbrella," SANA reported.

Saturday marks deadline for Iranian hostages

Iranian officials urged international groups to act to stop the threatened killing of 48 Iranian citizens by Syrian rebels, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.

In a video posted to YouTube, the rebels holding the hostages have threatened to begin killing them Saturday unless the Syrian regime releases rebel detainees and stops what the rebels called the "ongoing random slaughter" of innocent civilians.

The group, the Revolutionary Council of Eastern Ghouta, said one hostage would die for each Syrian killed by government forces.

The hostages were kidnapped in August while on what Iran has described as a religious pilgrimage. The rebels have described the hostages as members of Iran's military, an assertion Iran has denied.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi talked with Davutoglu by telephone Saturday and urged him to help secure release of the hostages.

The semi-official Mehr News Agency said Salehi also spoke with the prime minister of Qatar in an effort to resolve the situation.

From Gul Tuysuz, CNN, October 7, 2012

Hundreds march in Pakistan to protest drone attacks

A convoy of more than 100 vehicles left Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday on a march toward South Waziristan to protest U.S. drone attacks.

Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan is leading the march, which includes about 35 members of the U.S. anti-war group Code Pink. The group traveled to Pakistan last week to join the march, group representative Mirza Shahzad Akbar told CNN.

"We are here to say, on behalf of those Americans with a conscience, that we apologize to the people of Pakistan for the killing and suffering," Medea Benjamin, a founder of Code Pink, said at a news conference Thursday.

The U.K. advocacy group Reprieve and former Prime Minister Tony Blair's sister-in-law, Lauren Booth, are also part of the convoy.

But senior government officials warn that the participants will not be allowed into South Waziristan.

"We have already informed the convoy that we will not allow the participants to enter due to security reasons," Shahid Ullah, a senior government official, said.

"The situation in the tribal areas is comparatively good but not suitable for any gathering there," Tashfeen Khan, another government official, said.

"Visiting South Waziristan with foreigners would not be advisable. It can create problems," he said.

While the government has given no assurances for the safety of the march, the Pakistani Taliban has also voiced concern at the convoy entering the volatile region.

"We haven't given any kind of guarantee for the safety of the so-called Peace March planned to visit South Waziristan," said Ihsanullah Ihsan, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban.

The counterterrorism drone strike program in Pakistan has long been controversial, with conflicting reports on its impact from the U.S. government, Pakistani officials and independent organizations.

American officials insist that the choice and execution of the strikes -- begun under President George W. Bush and ramped up under President Barack Obama -- meet strict standards and that cases of civilian deaths or injuries are extremely rare.

But a study released last month by Stanford Law School and New York University's School of Law said the drone attacks have killed far more people than the United States acknowledges, traumatized innocent residents and been largely ineffective. Civilians account for a significant portion of those killed, the study said.

Meanwhile, fliers were distributed in the city of Tank on Friday from a militant splinter group claiming that Imran Khan was a Jewish American agent and that he would be endangering his own life and those who were traveling with him if he entered the tribal areas.

Convoy participants hope to reach South Waziristan on Sunday and hold a demonstration against drone attacks in northwest Pakistan.

By Shaan Khan, CNN, October 6, 2012 

Man charged with murder over missing Wales girl

A man was charged Saturday in Wales with the murder and abduction of a 5-year-old girl, April Jones, who has been missing since Monday.

Mark Bridger has also been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, prosecutor Iwan Jenkins said.

Meanwhile, the police search for April continues in and around the town of Machynlleth, in a remote corner of rural mid-Wales.

Bridger, 46, was arrested on suspicion of murder Friday. He had been in police custody since being arrested on suspicion of abduction Tuesday.

He will appear before magistrates in Aberystwyth on Monday morning, Jenkins said.

"I realize that this is an incredibly difficult time for April's family, friends and the community," he added.

Superintendent Ian John, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said that the force remained "totally focused and committed" to finding April.

Specialist police search teams have been scouring building in and around Machynlleth, as well as the surrounding mountainous and wooded countryside and a nearby flooded river.

Hundreds of local volunteers who had been helping police in the hunt were asked to leave the search to the professionals as it became apparent that it was now a murder inquiry.

April's mother made an emotional appeal earlier this week for information leading to her daughter.

She was taken from a street near her home as she played on her bicycle with a friend.

Chief Constable Jackie Roberts said the investigation had been "one of the most complex and fast moving" in the history of the police force.

She also paid tribute to the efforts of local residents who had rallied round to try to help the little girl.

Prime Minister David Cameron earlier this week said the abduction was "every parent's nightmare."

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN, October 6, 2012

Will improving economy sink Romney?

With only a month to go before election day, things are moving fast in the presidential campaign.

Twenty-four hours ago it was nothing but good news for Mitt Romney, his campaign revived by a strong performance in the first debate. Then new job numbers came out, showing the economy adding 114,000 jobs in September, upward revisions to the July and August numbers, and a drop in the unemployment rate to 7.8 percent. The economic picture is full of ambiguity, and Mitt Romney's challenge only grows more complex.

So though it took longer than most people expected, Romney has finally made the "shift to the center" that all presidential candidates are supposed to make once they've gotten their party's nomination and no longer have to appeal to their party's base.

This has been a particularly tricky line for Romney to walk, since so many Republicans saw his transformation from Massachusetts moderate to fire-breathing, "severely conservative" (as he put it) candidate as utterly insincere. So another ideological re-imagining had to be handled carefully.

When it came in a debate in which Romney was performing with the skill honed in a thousand boardroom PowerPoint presentations, the timing was perfect. Conservatives had been at the point of panic, desperate for anything that would turn the race around. With Romney emerging from the debate with a newfound energy and momentum, they were more than happy to accept a more moderate nominee.

And more moderate he did indeed seem. Regulations? He's happy to accept them: "Regulation is essential. You can't have a free market work if you don't have regulation." Tax cuts for the wealthy? Heaven forfend. "I cannot reduce the burden paid by high-income Americans." And that videotape in which he sneered at the 47% of Americans who won't "take personal responsibility and care for their lives"? After initially defending the remarks, he was ready to make a 180 on that too. Since Obama never brought it up during the debate, Romney went on Fox News the next day and told Sean Hannity, "I said something that was just completely wrong. When I become president, it will be about helping the 100%."

You won't hear Republicans saying this newly moderate Romney represents a betrayal. First off, they're smart enough to realize that Romney hasn't actually changed any of his plans; all he's changed is how he talks about them. And second, conservatives have always been good at coming together when power is on the line. The right has just as many factions and just as much infighting as the left, but when Election Day approaches, they become deadly serious about the task at hand. There will be plenty of time for an ideological struggle over the GOP's identity once the ballots are counted.

Yet it has always been the economic ruling class that stands at the front of the line when the spoils of Republican victory are distributed. The social conservatives may have to wait for abortion to be outlawed and the neoconservatives may have to bide their time before the next war, but a Republican administration will always make tax cuts its first priority.

Mitt Romney -- as pure a representative of that economic ruling class as has ever been nominated for president -- always had a twofold challenge on the economy. First, he had to convince voters that he is an effective manager with knowledge and experience. That was the easy part. Second, he had to assure them that he has their interests at heart. That second part is where the Obama campaign focused all its fire, attacking Romney as a heartless plutocrat who would toss his own grandmother in the street if he thought it would make him a few extra dollars.

I doubt Romney ever had any illusions that the American people would embrace him because he's such a lovable and charismatic fellow. It was one thing to smack down the assemblage of clowns he beat during the GOP primaries (recall that at various times the polls showed Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump leading the field), but defeating an incumbent president with considerable political skills is another matter altogether. So a struggling economy has always been the sine qua non of a Romney victory--and now the economic picture looks better than it did just a few months ago.

As both sides understand, the trajectory of the economy matters more to voters than the place it is in on Election Day. We all remember Ronald Reagan's soft-focus, "Morning in America" ads from 1984 showing the country to be in the best of economic times. But when Reagan was reelected, unemployment was 7.2 percent, nearly as high as it is now. What mattered was that two years before, it had been 10.8 percent. Things were improving steadily, and that's what shaped voters' perception of the economy.

Today, we have an economy moving in the right direction, if not as fast as anyone would like, meaning neither candidate gets a clear advantage out of economic conditions. We have two candidates, both claiming that the middle class is their primary concern. But one of them just started saying it in the last 48 hours, and he's fighting against his own image and that of his party. It will be an uphill slog.

By Paul Waldman, Special to CNN, October 5, 2012

Obama accuses Romney of dishonesty in debate

A day after losing the first presidential debate, President Barack Obama and his campaign accused his Republican challenger Mitt Romney of being dishonest about tax policy and other issues.

"If you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth," Obama said at a campaign rally Thursday in Denver. "So here's the truth: Governor Romney cannot pay for his $5 trillion tax plan without blowing up the deficit or sticking it to the middle class. That's the math."

The president's top aides were even more blunt.

"Romney's performance was one that's probably unprecedented in its dishonesty," senior adviser David Plouffe told reporters.

Still, senior campaign adviser David Axelrod acknowledged Obama will examine his debate strategy for the next two contests -- on October 16 in New York and October 22 in Florida.

The president opted against "serial fact-checking with Governor Romney, which can be a never-ending, exhausting pursuit," Axelrod said. "Obviously, going forward, we're going to have to look at this, and we're going to have make some adjustments."

Meanwhile, Romney continued to push his debate theme that there's been much federal spending under Obama, complaining of "trickle-down government" that has failed to solve the nation's economic woes.

"Trickle-down government that the president proposes is one where he will raise taxes on small business, which will kill jobs" he said in an unannounced visit Thursday to a conservative conference in Colorado. "I instead want to keep taxes down on small business so we can create jobs."

He and his vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, then appeared together Thursday night in Fisherville, in western Virginia. Ryan touted the National Rifle Association's endorsement earlier in the day of the GOP ticket, adding that he's looking forward to when "after we elect Mitt Romney president, I can take my daughter deer hunting."

Both the Wisconsin congressman and Romney, who followed him onstage, referenced the previous night's debate as demonstrating "a clear choice" for voters.

"Last night was an important night for the country, because people got the chance to cut through all the attacks and the counterattacks and all the theatrics associated with the campaign, and instead they were able to listen to substance," said the former Massachusetts governor.

"As a result ..., the American people recognize that (Obama) and I stand for something very different," he said, before vowing, "I am going to help the American people get good jobs and a bright future."

His supporters crowed about his debate performance, saying it reshaped a race that Romney had appeared in danger of losing.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who played the role of the president in debate rehearsals for Romney, said the GOP candidate had a "terrific night" in discussing Obama's record, talking about his own policies and setting "the record straight on ... misleading ads."

"He did exactly what he had to do for the undecided voter in Ohio or around the country," Portman said.

To Ed Gillespie, a senor adviser to Romney, the GOP challenger brought focus to the sharp contrast between the candidates by showing voters that "we can't afford four more years like the last four years."

While both sides were in full spin mode Thursday, it was widely felt that Romney won the debate itself.

"A week ago, people were saying this was over. We've got a horse race," said CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, who called the debate Romney's best so far after the 22 the former Massachusetts governor took part in during the GOP primary campaign.

Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist and CNN contributor, expressed surprise at Romney's strong performance, saying he "rose to the moment" and seemed to benefit from the multiple primary debates.

"It looked like Romney wanted to be there and President Obama didn't want to be there," noted Democratic strategist and CNN contributor James Carville. "The president didn't bring his 'A' game."

The CNN/ORC International poll of 430 people who watched the debate showed 67% thought Romney won, compared with 25% for Obama.

Obama joked Thursday that a different Romney appeared at the debate from the conservative candidate who won a grueling primary campaign to challenge him on November 6.

"When I got on to the stage I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said told the crowd of more than 12,000 at a Denver park. "But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that."

In Denver and later in Wisconsin, Obama also went after Romney's pledge during the debate to cut funding for public broadcasting, referring specifically to the popular Sesame Street character Big Bird.

"He'll get rid of regulations on Wall Street, but he's going to crack down on Sesame Street," Obama joked about Romney's pledge to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act that reforms the financial sector.

"Thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird," Obama added. "It's about time. We didn't know that Big Bird was driving the federal deficit."

During Wednesday's 90-minute debate, neither presidential candidate scored dramatic blows that will make future highlight reels, and neither veered from campaign themes and policies to date. Moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS had trouble keeping the duo within time limits for responses, especially Obama, who ended up speaking four minutes longer than Romney.

Romney criticized Obama's record and depicted the president's vision as one of big government, while the Democratic incumbent defended his achievements and challenged his rival's prescriptions as unworkable.

But Romney came off as the more energized candidate overall by repeatedly attacking Obama on red-meat issues for Republicans such as health care reform and higher taxes, while the president began with lengthy explanations and only later focused more on what his opponent was saying.

The former governor's strongest moments came in criticizing Obama's record, saying the nation's high unemployment and sluggish economic recovery showed the president's policies haven't worked.

"There's no question in my mind if the president is re-elected, you'll continue to see a middle-class squeeze," Romney said, adding that another term for Obama also will mean the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, "will be fully installed."

At another point, he noted how $90 billion spent on programs and policies to develop alternative energy sources could have been devoted to hiring teachers or other needs that would bring down unemployment.

Obama argued his policies were working to bring America back from the financial and economic crisis he inherited, and that Romney refused to divulge specifics about his proposed tax plans and replacements for the health care law and Wall Street reform that the Republican has pledged to repeal.

In one of his strongest lines of the night, Obama said Romney lacked the important leadership quality of being able to say "no" when necessary.

"I've got to tell you, Governor Romney, when it comes to his own party during the course of this campaign, has not displayed that willingness to say no to some of the more extreme parts of his party," Obama said in reference to his challenger's swing to the right during the primaries to appeal to the GOP's conservative base.

Romney rejected Obama's characterization of his tax plan, insisting it won't add to the deficit, and criticized the president's call to allow tax rates on income over $250,000 for families and $200,000 for individuals to return to higher 1990s rates as a job-snuffing tax hike on small business.

Romney repeatedly went after Obama on the health care reform bill, criticizing the president for focusing so strongly on a measure that passed with no Republican support instead of devoting more attention to creating jobs.

"I just don't know how the president could have come into office, facing 23 million people out of work, rising unemployment, an economic crisis at the -- at the kitchen table, and spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for Obamacare instead of fighting for jobs for the American people," Romney said.

"The right answer is not to have the federal government take over health care," Romney added, quickly noting his plan would include popular provisions of Obamacare such as allowing children up to age 26 stay on family plans and preventing insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

With polls narrowing less than five weeks before Election Day, Obama and Romney launched a new phase in a bitter race dominated so far by negative advertising as both camps try to frame the election to their advantage.

Whether it matters is itself a topic of debate. According to an analysis by Gallup, televised debates have affected the outcome of only two elections in the past half century -- Nixon-Kennedy in 1960 and Bush-Gore in 2000.

By Tom Cohen, CNN, October 5, 2012

Analysis: Five reasons the president fumbled the debate

President Barack Obama turned in a less-than-stellar performance Wednesday night in his first debate this election season. On Thursday, his campaign aides said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came armed with distortions. But if the president believed that, he barely brought them to the viewers' attention during the debate. Instead, he turned in a distracted, passionless performance.

Here are five reasons he fumbled:

1. His nice-guy image: The Obama team believes the president's biggest asset is his likability. They want him to preserve that at all costs. They're convinced undecided voters don't want to see him engaged in verbal combat -- so he rose above it. That meant he passed on openings to attack Romney.

He also missed openings to defend his own record and didn't challenge what his campaign now labels Romney "distortions." It let him stay the nice guy, but isn't there a saying about the nice guy and where he finishes?

2. Misjudging the room: They decided this wasn't about the debate. Instead, it was an opportunity, like the speech at the Democratic National Convention, to speak directly "to voters at home, not the people in the room." Viewers saw that tactic a few times when the president looked directly into the camera to deliver his message.

But a debate is about engaging with at least two people in the room -- the opponent (Romney) and the moderator (Jim Lehrer). By reaching beyond them (and at one point snapping at Lehrer), the president seemed disengaged and disinterested -- and no doubt that matters to the people watching at home.

3. Not enough prep: The president held more strategy sessions about the debate than actual mock debates. It's no doubt harder to find the time to prep when you're a sitting president and not a candidate, but to get rehired, he needs to find the time. Known for his gift with words, the president is, according to sources, challenging to coach. He believes he's his own best critic and that he knows what to say and how to say it.

4. Incumbency syndrome: Did you get the sense the president did not want to be on that stage, that other things were on his mind?

He appeared impatient with the experience, not unlike other incumbent presidents, including George W. Bush 2004. It read almost as if the president is dealing with too many other domestic and global issues to stand there and volley about campaign promises when he has -- in the mind of the incumbent -- more pressing matters. He seemed to have a bad case of it Wednesday night.

5. Doesn't take criticism well: It's no secret Obama is a confident man. He wouldn't have a lot of patience for advisers talking about how to score style points. But as Al Gore's sighing debate performance in 2000 proved how a candidate looks when he's not speaking can be as important as what he says.

Sources tell CNN that during debate prep, only the president's inner circle stayed for the critique of the president's performance after the mock debates. Even then, it didn't seem to make enough headway to calm the president's impatience with this process.

Maybe next time, they'll show the president tape of his downward gaze and grimacing during Romney's answers -- and let him provide his own self-criticism before he shows up in Hempstead, New York, for the second debate at Hofstra University.

Three things we know about the president: He's fiercely competitive, hates losing and he is disciplined. After last night's experience, he will no doubt adjust and come in ready with a different performance for round two. But he has to avoid the problem Al Gore faced in 2000. Gore was too passive in one debate so he overcorrected and came off as too aggressive in another -- missing the mark both times.

By Jessica Yellin, CNN Chief White House Correspondent, October 5, 2012