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JACKSON, Miss. – Former Gov. Kirk Fordice (search), a hard-nosed no-nonsense businessman who became Mississippi’s first Republican governor in 116 years, died Tuesday of leukemia at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He was 70. Funeral arrangements were pending. A statement released by the Fordice family said the …

WASHINGTON – A federal judge dealt tobacco companies a blow on Monday that sent their stocks sliding by refusing to limit $280 billion worth of penalties the government is seeking at a trial due to start in September. Shares of Altria Group Inc.(MO), whose Philip Morris USA unit is the …

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – U.S. warplanes helped Afghan forces pound Taliban militants in the mountains of southern Afghanistan Tuesday, killing some 20 suspected insurgents at a recently discovered camp, a senior Afghan commander said. The three-hour battle occurred in Arghistan district of Kandahar province (search), some 120 miles southwest of the …