New York City man dies of West Nile virus

NEW YORK -- A man has died from the West Nile virus, the first known fatality from the disease in New York City this year, the city health department said.

If confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the West Nile death would be the 32nd in the United States this year.

The 73-year-old man from the borough of Queens was hospitalized on Friday and died two days later, the department said Monday.

There have been three other cases of the disease in the city this year: a 71-year-old woman, an 86-year-old woman, and an 84-year-old man. The two women were hospitalized in stable condition, and the man remains hospitalized in critical condition.

So far this year, 638 people in 27 states and the District of Columbia have tested positive for West Nile virus and 31 have died, according to the CDC.

Bankruptcy judge blocks sale of Napster

SAN FRANCISCO -- A bankruptcy judge blocked the sale of Napster to Bertelsmann AG Tuesday, killing a deal that might have established the song-swapping service as a legitimate business.

Judge Peter J. Walsh in Wilmington, Del., cited conflicting loyalties by Napster's top executive.

Napster chief executive Konrad Hilbers, a Bertelsmann veteran, said the judge's decision will probably force Napster into liquidation.

Bertelsmann had sought to purchase the remains of the defunct Napster network for an additional $8 million.

Tentative settlement reached for abuse victims

BOSTON -- The Boston Archdiocese and alleged sex abuse victims of defrocked priest John Geoghan have reached a tentative $10 million settlement, Cardinal Bernard Law's attorney said Tuesday.

"Tentative is the operative word," attorney J. Owen Todd said of a deal that could end civil suits brought by 86 people before a judge rules on the validity of a previous settlement worth up to $30 million.

Church lawyers made the latest offer in late July, Todd said, before the sides went to court to determine if the previous settlement was binding.

Nun assaulted, strangled with rosary beads

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- Police charged a man with sexually assaulting a nun and strangling her with her rosary beads as she took a late-night stroll with another nun. The other woman was also sexually assaulted, police said.

Sister Helen Chaska, 53, became the first homicide victim in Klamath County this year when she was attacked while reciting the rosary as she and her companion strolled down a bike path just after midnight Sunday.

An autopsy showed that she was strangled with her rosary beads, which became embedded in her neck.

The other woman was treated at a hospital and released.

Maximiliano Cilerio Esparza, 32, was charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, assault, sodomy, sexual abuse and possession and delivery of a controlled substance. He was being held without bail at the Klamath County Jail.

Hatfill fired from job as researcher at LSU

WASHINGTON -- Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, who says the federal government has ruined his life by linking him to the anthrax investigation, was fired Tuesday from his job as a researcher at Louisiana State University.

Hatfill was hired by LSU's National Center for Biomedical Research and Training in July and put on administrative leave with pay on Aug. 2.

"The university is making no judgment as to Dr. Hatfill's guilt or innocence regarding the FBI investigation," said Chancellor Mark A. Emmert in a statement released by the university Tuesday.

Pat Clawson, a spokesman for Hatfill, said the university called Hatfill's attorneys Tuesday afternoon and told him of their decision to fire him.

In a statement, Hatfill blamed the FBI's investigation for his firing.

"My life has been completely and utterly destroyed by (Attorney General) John Ashcroft and the FBI," Hatfill said. "I do not understand why they are doing this to me. My professional reputation is in tatters."

-- From wire reports