Former US President Ford returns from hospital

Former President Gerald R. Ford returned to his southern California desert home Monday after five days of hospitalization for medical tests, his spokeswoman said Monday. Ford, 93, who was admitted Oct. 12 to Eisenhower Medical Center, returned to his Thunderbird Estates compound about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, chief of staff Penny Circle said. She did not disclose the nature of the tests. "President Ford, Mrs. Ford and the Ford family wish to thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes," she wrote in a statement.