N.C. inmate becomes 1,000th executed since '77

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A double-murderer became the 1,000th person executed in the United States since capital punishment resumed 28 years ago. Kenneth Lee Boyd, who gunned down his estranged wife and father-in-law 17 years earlier, died at 2:15 a.m. Friday after receiving a lethal injection. Boyd's death rallied death penalty opponents, and about 150 protesters gathered outside the prison.

Ohio bodies may be those of youngsters slain in '03

HUDSON, Ohio -- Two bodies discovered in Ohio may be those of New Hampshire children whose father confessed to killing them and burying them somewhere along a 700-mile stretch of the Midwest 2 1/2 years ago, authorities said Friday. Police and the FBI said a dog that bolted from its owner Thursday found a shallow grave containing both bodies wrapped in plastic near Interstate 80, known as the Ohio Turnpike. Scott Wilson, a spokesman with the FBI's Cleveland office, said he could not comment on the gender or age of the bodies, but added: "We're looking into the possibility the bodies might be linked to those missing kids."

Courthouses evacuated in Conn. after bomb threats

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A bomb threat prompted police to evacuate the state's 45 court buildings Friday, abruptly interrupting trials while sending judges, lawyers and people with routine court business into the streets. A caller said bombs would go off at 2 p.m., but an hour later, the buildings were still being searched with dogs and nothing had been found. Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle said there were five threats that were not directed against specific courthouses.

FDA advisers say first ADHD patch is safe

WASHINGTON -- A federal advisory panel determined Friday that the first skin patch to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children is both effective and safe, bringing the patch a step closer to regulatory approval. However, the panel of independent experts voted to recommend to the Food and Drug Administration that the patch's label encourage its use only as an alternative treatment for children with ADHD -- in effect, saying doctors should prescribe it if taking pills is too difficult for a child. The unanimous vote by the FDA's Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee came after a formerly critical FDA reviewer reversed his opinion about the drug.

Letter says to bar gays from seminary faculties

A Vatican letter sent privately to Roman Catholic bishops worldwide instructs them to bar men "with homosexual tendencies" from being rectors or teachers at seminaries. The cover letter, dated Nov. 4, accompanied copies of the "instruction" on gays in the priesthood that was released Tuesday. The letter tells bishops that the new Vatican document "does not call into question the validity of" previous ordinations of priests "with homosexual tendencies" or of priests for whom "such tendencies have manifested themselves after ordination." It then prohibits gays from teaching at seminaries. "Because of the particular responsibility of those charged with the formation of future priests, they are not to be appointed as rectors or educators in seminaries," the letter says.

-- From wire reports