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King's College reviewing Broadwell ethics

BOSTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- King's College London is planning an ethical review of Paula Broadwell, Gen. David Petraeus' biographer and paramour, an official at the school said.

Petraeus is also the subject of Broadwell's doctoral thesis. Mervyn Frost, head of the war studies department, told The Boston Globe that could be a problem.

"We have a very stringent ethical review process," Frost said. "We found nothing wrong with her original proposal, but in light of what's happened now, I suspect we'll revisit that process."

Broadwell began studying at King's College after failing to advance to doctoral candidacy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, the Globe said.

She earned a master's degree in public administration there.

Two Harvard professors who did not want their names used gave the Globe critical assessments of Broadwell. One said she did not appear to have the academic background to do the Petraeus biography, and the other said she had difficulty writing it.

"She was a lot of talk but not a lot of follow-through," the second professor said. "That is why she brought on a co-author."

But the school embraced Broadwell as an alumna when "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," written with Vernon Loeb of The Washington Post, was published this year and became a best-seller.

4 killed when train hits parade float

MIDLAND, Texas, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Four people were killed Thursday when a train struck a float in the annual Show of Support parade in Midland, Texas, officials said.

All remaining Show of Support events for Thursday night and the weekend were canceled after the crash, the Midland Reporter-Telegram said.

The eastbound train struck a float carrying veterans and their spouses at the corner of Garfield Road and Industrial Avenue just before 5 p.m., Midland Police Chief Price Robinson said. Sixteen injured people were transported to Midland Memorial Hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Marcy Madrid said Midland Memorial has "the resources and staff" to care for the injured.

Denver, Boulder to stop marijuana charges

DENVER, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Officials in Colorado said they will stop charging anyone 21 or older for possessing small amounts of marijuana in light of a voter-passed referendum.

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and City Attorney Doug Friednash said Thursday they would stop pressing charges and would review pending cases a day after Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett announced he would dismiss pending cases that involved less than an ounce of pot, The Denver Post reported.

About 70 cases in Denver would apply to the new state constitutional amendment and would be candidates for dismissal. Cases involving other charges or individuals under the age of 21 would still be prosecuted, Denver District Attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said.

Amendment 64, which allows the "personal use and regulation of marijuana" for adults 21 and over and allows adults to grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes, passed with 66 percent support in Denver and 54 percent statewide. It will go into effect 30 days after votes from the Nov. 6 election are certified.

Rep. DesJarlais admits multiple affairs

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said under oath he had six extramarital affairs and supported his ex-wife's decision to have two abortions, court records show.

DesJarlais, a physician who came to Congress as a Tea Party favorite and family values candidate in 2010, was elected to a second term Nov. 6, four weeks after publication of a transcript of a telephone conversation between him and a patient with whom he allegedly had been having an affair -- and three weeks after admitting he had shown "poor judgment" in having an affair with a patient 12 years ago.

The transcript shows DesJarlais pressuring the woman to have an abortion.

Initially, DesJarlais' office called the story "old news from the last election cycle."

Citing the transcript from DesJarlais' 2001 divorce trial, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Thursday he admitted under oath he had sexual relationships with at least two patients, three coworkers and a drug company representative while he was employed as chief of staff at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, Tenn.

A spokesman for DesJarlais, 48, did not reply to Times Free Press requests for comment. The newspaper said an attorney for DesJarlais' ex-wife said she had no comment.

DesJarlais defeated Democratic state Sen. Eric Stewart 56 percent to 44 percent in the Nov. 6 election.

Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Brandon Puttbrese said the party was unable to obtain the trial transcript before the election but suggested its contents could have a negative impact on DesJarlais' medical practice and his future in politics.