US ex- President Gerald Ford dies

LOS ANGELES—Former president Gerald Ford, who sought to heal America after the trauma of the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon from office in 1974, has died at the age of 93. His wife of 58 years, Betty Ford, said in a brief statement announcing his death that her husband, who became the longest living US president last month, had lived a life filled by “God, family and his country.” “My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age,” the former first lady said in the statement.—Agencies