National briefs

FLEMINGTON, N.J. (AP) -- A second man has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering in the shooting death at Jayson Williams' mansion and agreed to testify against the former NBA star.

John W. Gordnick pleaded guilty Thursday under a deal that requires him to testify against Williams. If Gordnick fulfills the terms of the agreement, prosecutors will recommend he receive probation.

Williams, 34, has pleaded innocent to first-degree manslaughter and to charges that he tampered with witnesses and evidence to make the shooting death look self-inflicted. If convicted on all charges, he could face nearly 45 years in prison.

Twin has third surgery

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Guatemalan girl once joined at the head to her twin sister was awake and active after surgery to remove blood collecting on her brain, the third such operation since she and her sister were surgically separated.

Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez was listed in serious condition after the 90-minute operation Thursday, and hospital officials said it was unlikely blood would accumulate on her brain again.

Her sister, Maria de Jesus, remained in serious condition with stable vital signs.

FBI raids San Diego firm that hacked military

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The FBI raided a consulting firm's offices after a newspaper trumpeted the company's claims that it found security loopholes in U.S. military computers.

The FBI raided the offices of 4-month-old ForensicTec Solutions over the weekend after the claims were reported Friday in The Washington Post.

"Regardless of the stated intent, unauthorized entry into Army computer systems is a federal offense," said Marc Raimondi, spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command in Virginia.

ForensicTec identified 34 military sites where it said network security was easily compromised. It reportedly used free software to identify vulnerable computers and then peruse hundreds of confidential files containing military procedures, e-mail, Social Security numbers and financial data.

West Nile virus spreads westward; death toll rises

ATLANTA (AP) -- Steadily spreading westward across the United States, the mosquito-borne West Nile virus has already claimed at least 14 lives, infected almost 300 people and has been detected in all but seven of the lower 48 states.

The year's nationwide death toll could rise to 16 if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirm two deaths from the virus reported Thursday in Georgia.

The victims were a 51-year-old Atlanta man and a 77-year-old man from Columbus, but state officials did not say when they died.

At least 33 people have died since the virus appeared in the United States in 1999. There is no cure for humans.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first national trial of a drug this week, clearing the way for James Rahal of the New York Hospital Queens to see whether interferon can lessen the symptoms and duration of the illness in infected patients.

Transmitted to humans by mosquito bites, West Nile virus can cause fever, body aches, brain swelling, coma, paralysis or death.