Judge rejects fines for cigarette makers
(AP)


<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_on_bi_ge/tobacco_lawsuit"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20060818/capt.2b9b4375fa0747f48fff21f70b9cd1e7.us_tobacco_lawsuit_ny107.jpg?x=61&y=130&sig=WpzQ1iU.eBVv7wwndz844A--" align="left" height="130" width="61" alt="Undated file photo of U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler. The judge says the United States' top cigarette makers conspired for decades to mislead the public about the health hazards and addictive nature of smoking, but she says there is not much she can do to make them pay. Kessler sided with the government Thursday Aug. 17, 2006 in its seven-year-old civil racketeering case against the tobacco industry. However, she rejected a bid by the Justice Department to make tobacco companies pay billions of dollars in remedies. (AP Photo/Judge Kessler's Office)" border="0" /></a>AP - A federal judge says the nation's top cigarette makers conspired for decades to mislead the public about the health hazards and addictive nature of smoking, but she says there's not much she can do to make them pay.</p><br clear="all"/>