Virginia

USS Cole returns from overseas deployment

The USS Cole came home Thursday from six months in the Mediterranean Sea — its first overseas deployment since terrorists bombed it in Yemen’s port of Aden in October 2000, killing 17 sailors.

The guided-missile destroyer was repaired and upgraded after the attack, and only five sailors who were aboard that day remain with it. They did not want to talk to reporters, the Navy said.

Other members of the crew of more than 350 acknowledged that the attack was an inescapable part of the ship’s history.

“It’s always going to be the Cole,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Ellis, 34, of Moyock, N.C.

California

Defense: Father had no gun residue on hands

A man accused of murdering nine of his children and piling up the bodies in his home had no gunshot residue on his hands when he was arrested, according to documents filed by his lawyer.

The lack of residue could support the claim by Marcus Wesson’s lawyer that Wesson’s 25-year-old daughter, Sebhrenah, shot eight of the victims and then killed herself March 12.

Marcus Wesson, 57, is accused of killing all nine victims, ages 1 to 25. Prosecutors say he preached a suicide pact and had total control over his family. He was arrested after walking out of his house spattered in blood.

Meanwhile, a judge Thursday granted a defense request to delay the murder trial against Wesson’s wishes, to give his lawyer more time to prepare.

BOSTON

Ex-archbishop named head of Rome basilica

Cardinal Bernard Law was appointed by the pope Thursday to a ceremonial but highly visible post in Rome, outraging many in the archdiocese Law left in disgrace at the height of the clergy sex scandal.

Law, 72, will have the title of archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica, a post often given to retired prelates.

Pope John Paul II’s announcement came two days after the Boston Archdiocese said it would lose at least 65 parishes as it grapples with declining collections, a shortage of priests and fallout from the scandal.

BALTIMORE

Three children found decapitated in home

Three young children were found decapitated Thursday in an apartment in northwest Baltimore, police said.

The children’s mother found their bodies when she arrived home late Thursday afternoon, police spokeswoman Nicole Monroe said. The children were all under the age of 10, she said.

The mother, who neighbors said was Hispanic and speaks little English, notified a neighbor, who called 911.

Homicide detectives were questioning a man who Monroe said was “a person of interest,” Monroe said. She gave no additional details.

California

After nine weeks, jurors seated in Peterson trial

Completing an arduous process that began nine weeks ago, a jury of six men and six women was selected Thursday to decide whether Scott Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, so that he could carry on an affair.

Opening statements in the former fertilizer salesman’s murder trial are set for Tuesday. He could get the death penalty if convicted.

The jurors, who appear to range in age from their 20s to more than 60, include a school coach, a social worker, a firefighter, a former police officer, an adoption worker and a former security guard.

Florida

Suit claims Atkins diet caused heart problems

A businessman sued the promoters of the Atkins diet and the estate of founder Dr. Robert Atkins, alleging that the low-carb, high-fat meal plan clogged his arteries and threatened his health.

The suit by Jody Gorran, filed Wednesday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, seeks $15,000.

Gorran, 53, said Thursday he started the diet in May 2001 because his weight had risen from 140 to 148 pounds. In two months, he said, his cholesterol rose from a normal 146 to an unhealthy 230, and by October 2003, he needed heart angioplasty to clear his arteries.

Atkins Nutritionals said in a statement that it stood by the science that had “repeatedly reaffirmed the safety and health benefits of the Atkins Nutritional Approach.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Earth brightening after years of dimming

Times may be brightening up for Earth.

Scientists studying earthshine — the amount of light reflected by the Earth — say the planet appeared to dim from 1984 to 2001 and then reversed its trend and brightened from 2001 to 2003.

The shift appears to have resulted from changes in the amount of clouds covering the planet. More clouds reflect more light back into space, potentially cooling the planet, while a dimmer planet with fewer clouds would be warmed by the arriving sunlight.

That means the changes in brightness could signal climate change, though it’s too early to tell.