World Signal

 The USS Abraham Lincoln , a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that has anchored American naval power in the Middle East since January, has begun the roughly 13,000-mile voyage home to San Diego after the USS George Washington arrived in the region on August 19 to take its place. The handover closes out a deployment that had run more than 270 days as of August 20, including more than 200 consecutive days without a port call — a modern-day record for a U.S. aircraft carrier, according to lawmakers and defense reporting — with only brief exceptions for a port call in Guam in December and a short stop in Oman in early July. The deployment became a flashpoint in Washington after reports emerged of moldy showers, rationed food, water-system problems and sailors attempting to jump overboard. U.S. Central Command confirmed the George Washington's arrival in a statement Wednesday, and a U.S. official told NBC News and other outlets that the Lincoln had begun its journey home. Adm. Brad Coo...