A Texas jury on Friday awarded a $253.4 million verdict in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of a man who suffered cardiac arrest after using the prescription osteoarthritis drug Vioxx . Merck , the maker of Vioxx, has issued a statement that they were "disappointed" and planned to appeal the decision. Vioxx [...]

John Allen Muhammad , who has been convicted of murder in Virginia for one of the ten Washington DC area sniper killings, was moved Friday from Virginia's death row to Maryland in order to face trial for six other deaths in the 2002 killing spree. Muhammad also faces the death penalty in Maryland. His accomplice, [...]

A survey conducted by Quinnipiac University's Polling Institute found that 72% of 1,601 New York residents polled supported the random bag searches being conducted on city subways and buses following the terrorist attacks in London . While 55% said government security measures should not violate basic civil rights, 60% of Republicans said that the government [...]

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) , the political wing of the outlawed Mujahideen-e-Khalq guerrilla movement , said Friday that Iran is developing a plan to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. While the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency are diverted with the country's uranium enrichment activities, NCRI reports that Iranian [...]

Three days after gang related riots in seven Guatemalan prisons killed 35 inmates, three more inmate gang members were injured in riots Thursday. A later search of the prison uncovered 3 grenades, 6 guns and many homemade weapons. Blanca de Stalling, the director of an association of public defense lawyers, the Institute of Criminal Public [...]

Four tobacco companies have filed suit against the state of Kentucky for violating the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) made between 46 states and more than 40 tobacco companies, regulating payments to states and restrictions on tobacco promotion. The four companies, Vector Group , Commonwealth Brands , King Maker Marketing , and Sherman's 1400 Broadway [...]

Grundfos , a Danish company that produces industrial pumps, admitted Friday that two employees paid kickbacks to authorities in Saddam Hussein's government under the UN oil-for-food program . An internal Grundfos investigation uncovered the bribes, which were made between 2001 and 2002 to secure two contracts, but the company declined to reveal the amount of [...]

The lawyer for former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz announced Thursday that he expects his client to be released from US custody shortly without being put on trial. Badia Aref told Reuters that due to legal developments that could not be disclosed, he expected his client to be freed soon. Aref also denied rumors [...]

A US military jury reduced the rank of Pfc. Willie Brand to private, the lowest pay grade in the army, at his sentencing hearing Thursday. In doing so, the jury disregarded the prosecutor's recommendation that Brand be sentenced to 10 years in a military prison for his conviction on assault, maltreatment, false official swearing and [...]

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff , indicted by a federal grand jury on bank fraud charges last week, will plead not guilty, according to a statement made by his lawyer Neal Sonnett Thursday. The charges allege he defrauded two lenders of $60 million to buy San Cruz Casino from Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis, who was murdered in [...]