Briefly . . . NATION/WORLD

She used baby in murder plot; gets two life sentences

A California woman convicted of killing a wealthy couple for their yacht was sentenced yesterday to two life terms without the possibility of parole.

Jennifer Deleon, 26, was found guilty last year of two counts of first-degree murder. She is now divorced and uses the name Jennifer Henderson.

She was not on board the 55-foot yacht when Tom and Jackie Hawks were tied to an anchor and thrown over the side in 2004. But cops said Deleon, who was pregnant at the time, helped her then-husband Skylar Deleon with the murders by using their infant daughter to gain the trust of the Hawks.

Civilian deaths questioned;

4 more GIs killed in Iraq

U.S. airstrikes killed at least 25 people yesterday after troops met a fierce barrage while hunting suspected arms smuggling links between Iran and Shiite militiamen. The military described the dead as fighters, but village leaders said the victims included children and men protecting their homes.

Separately, the the U.S. military said it was investigating the deaths of three civilians shot by American sentries near an Iraqi-manned checkpoint.

Meanwhile, four American soldiers were reported killed - three yesterday in roadside bombings in Baghdad and near Beiji to the north, and one Thursday in a small-arms attack in the capital.

3 teens sought in torching

of homeless man in NYC

A homeless man was critically injured yesterday after he was set on fire outside a New York City church where he had bedded down for the night.

Police were searching for three teenage boys.

The torching of Felix Najera, 49, stunned residents around Bethany Christian Church in upper Manhattan's East Harlem.

"It's a shame," said Gary Williams. "He doesn't bother anybody."

Najera was taken to the hospital in critical condition with burns covering 75 percent of his body.

O.J. gets his 'Rolex' back - it's a China-made knockoff

O.J. Simpson is getting his fake Rolex watch back.

The timepiece, seized earlier this week by lawyers for Fred Goldman, was ordered returned to the former football star after it was determined to be a knockoff made in China.

Goldman has won a multimillion-dollar wrongful death judgment against Simpson, but the watch falls under an exemption in the judgment excluding jewelry worth less than $6,075.

Goldman had hoped the watch might be worth as much as $22,000, but an appraisal from San Francisco jeweler Shreve & Co. concluded it was worth only about $100. Simpson had told his lawyer he paid $125 for it.

Also yesterday. . .

_ A federal lawsuit was filed in Durham, N.C., alleging that the city of Durham, former District Attorney Mike Nifong and the DNA laboratory hired by the disbarred ex-prosecutor conspired to falsely charge three Duke lacrosse players with rape.

_ Assistant U.S. Attorney John D.R. Atchison, 53, a federal prosecutor from Florida accused of flying to Detroit last month to molest a 5-year-old girl, committed suicide in his cell in federal prison yesterday. *

-Associated Press