Virginia

Sniper jury fails to reach verdict

Jurors deliberated without reaching a verdict Wednesday in the capital murder trial of sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo.

Jurors were to resume deliberations today in Chesapeake after hearing answers to questions they submitted after breaking for the day.

Malvo’s lawyers have presented an insanity defense, saying brainwashing by convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad left Malvo incapable of knowing right from wrong.

The 18-year-old is charged with capital murder in the Oct. 14, 2002, slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin during the three-week reign of terror in the Washington area that left 10 people dead and three wounded.

Muhammad, 42, was convicted last month of capital murder, and the jury recommended that he be put to death.

Atlanta

More women opting to defer motherhood

The average age at which American women are having their first child has climbed to an all-time high of 25.1, the government said Wednesday.

The rise reflects a drop in teen births and an increase in the number of women who are putting off motherhood until their 30s and 40s.

The age of first-time American moms has risen steadily during the past three decades, from an average of 21.4 in 1970. The latest figure, for 2002, was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The teen birth rate has dropped 30 percent in the past decade to a historic low of 43 births per 1,000 women in 2002. The CDC also said births among women ages 20 to 24 had dropped to 104 per 1,000 women, from a high of 109.7 in 2000.

San Diego

Panda cub to make earlier debut at zoo

Mei Sheng, the giant panda cub born in August at the San Diego Zoo, will go on exhibit Friday, two months earlier than anticipated.

Much is unknown about the endangered species with the hypnotic black-and-white patterns on the fur. On one point, however, there is no dispute: Wherever pandas are exhibited, their drawing power exceeds that of all other animals, making them, in zoo-talk, the ultimate charismatic mega-vertebrates.

One measure of panda popularity is the panda-cam on the zoo’s Web site, www.sandiegozoo.org. Since the camera went live on the cub Aug. 27, six days after his birth, 5.7 million people have clicked on for a look.

By Chinese tradition, panda cubs are not named until they are 100 days old. On Tuesday, the 14-pound cub got a name, which in Chinese translates to Beautiful Life or Born in the U.S.A.

Cincinnati

Stun guns approved for police department

Cincinnati police, criticized after the recent death of a man who struggled with officers, are getting a new tool for controlling violent people.

The City Council voted 6-3 Wednesday to use a $745,000 federal grant to buy more than 900 stun guns for police.

The purchase had been discussed before Nathaniel Jones, 41, died after struggling with police in a restaurant parking lot, but the Nov. 30 death led to a public push for the stun guns by Mayor Charlie Luken and some council members.

A police cruiser video showed Jones, who weighed 350 pounds, lunging at one officer before he was brought down with repeated strikes from nightsticks. Jones was black, and activists have criticized police for not using a less violent method to bring him under control.

Luken said that evidence shows stun guns save lives by giving police a less lethal alternative to batons or possibly guns.