Libyan HIV murder trial verdict gets postponed

TRIPOLI, Libya -- A Libyan court postponed its verdict Saturday in the case of six Bulgarians and a Palestinian, all doctors and nurses, accused of injecting 393 children with HIV-contaminated blood.

It was the second time in four months the judges had postponed their verdict. They were originally due to hand down a ruling in September.

The chairman of the three-judge panel said the postponement was necessary "to review the files of evidence further." The verdict would now be given on Feb. 17, he said.

The five Bulgarian nurses, a Bulgarian doctor and a Palestinian doctor have pleaded innocent to charges of murder and conspiracy.

Pfizer settles after verdict in diabetes case

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- A woman who said her liver was destroyed by Pfizer Inc.'s recalled diabetes drug, Rezulin, still faces the prospect of a transplant. But her attorneys say a settlement reached with the drug giant hours after it lost a huge jury verdict will bring her justice.

The amount of the settlement was not disclosed, but Pfizer general counsel Paul Miller said it was "substantially lower" than the $43 million in compensatory damages awarded by the state court jury. The company did not admit liability.

Margarita Sanchez' case was the second to go to trial involving Rezulin, which has been linked to 63 deaths from liver failure.

Missing biologist's body found in Mississippi

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A body found in the Mississippi River was identified Saturday as a Harvard University biologist who disappeared more than a month ago.

Don Wiley, 57, had been missing since Nov. 16, when his rental car was found abandoned with the keys in the ignition on a Mississippi River bridge at Memphis.

The body was discovered Thursday snagged on a tree near a hydroelectric plant at Vidalia, La., across the river from Natchez, Miss, about 300 miles south of Memphis. A wallet containing Wiley's identification was found on the body, police said.

Authorities said the cause of death may be determined in the coming week.

Bush urges Americans to appreciate family, friends

WASHINGTON -- President Bush urged Americans Saturday to spend Christmas "appreciating more than ever the things that matter most -- our families, our friends and our faith."

In his weekly radio address, Bush said the entire country shares the grief of those whose loved ones died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and during military action in Afghanistan.

"The year now ending saw a few acts of terrible evil," Bush said. "It also saw many more acts of courage and kindness and love. And these reflect the great hope of Christmas."

-- From wire reports