Aug. 16--ANGLETON -- The final witnesses are expected today in the country's first trial of nearly 4,300 lawsuits claiming the once-popular painkiller Vioxx harmed patients who took it. Lawyers for Merck & Co. Inc.

SOMERVILLE, N.J. - State Superior Court Judge Edward M.

SOMERVILLE, N.J. - Since it began in February, jurors in the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial have heard 43 witnesses and two widely divergent versions of what happened the night the retired NBA star's shotgun went off, killing a limo driver.

The verdict forms the jury will use during deliberations in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad will include the name John Allen Williams, despite defense lawyers' objections, a judge ruled Thursday. Muhammad was born John Allen Williams but changed his name after converting to Islam.

Closing arguments were expected to begin Thursday in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad, with the jury possibly getting the case later in the day.