Altria Group is in advanced talks to buy UST, the maker of the popular Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco brands, for more than $10 billion. The terms could not be learned.

Mr. Montgomery was a lawyer who marshaled a silvery Southern drawl and incisive strategy to win 65 settlements of $1 million or more, including billions from the tobacco industry awarded to Florida in 1997.

The Altria Group posted a second-quarter profit that slightly beat Wall Street estimates, but the number of cigarettes shipped by its Philip Morris USA unit fell more than some analysts expected.

Two Canadian tobacco companies agreed to pay criminal fines and civil penalties after admitting that they had aided cigarette smugglers.

The House overwhelmingly approved legislation that would give the F.D.A. new power to regulate tobacco products.

The House overwhelmingly approved legislation that would give the F.D.A. new power to regulate tobacco products.

NEW YORK (AP)– Altria Group said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 58 percent, as results from last year included the company’s now-separate international cigarette unit.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would give the F.D.A. new power to regulate tobacco products.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe found that regional smoking bans discriminated against small one-room bars.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would give the F.D.A. new power to regulate tobacco products.