Free Republic

“When we have a vote on the House floor, there is no way in the world I’m going to be voting to ratify the Electoral College votes from states where I believe that illegal votes have distorted the will of the people in those states who have cast their votes illegally,” Brooks added. “And we’ll see how that goes. It is not the Supreme Court who decides who is the President of the United States, under the Constitution, it is the Congress who makes that decision.” Such an outcome could force the 50 U.S. House state delegations to determine the...

Tobacco giant Philip Morris struck out again in its attempts to kill San Francisco's new ban on cigarette sales at pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid. A federal court judge in Oakland rejected an unusual first amendment argument. Philip Morris argued that the sales ban effectively kills in-store tobacco advertisements, a violation of free speech. But Judge Claudia Wilken didn’t buy it. She said the company could still advertise in any store it liked. Philip Morris said 20-percent of its San Francisco sales took place at Walgreens and Rite Aid, the two chains affected by the ban. The first...

CHICAGO, Dec 13 - Philip Morris USA said on Wednesday it was raising prices on all its cigarette brands by 10 cents per pack as of Dec. 18, a move that had been expected by analysts.The price increase was accomplished by lowering promotional discounts the company offers on its Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Parliament and Basic brands, while raising list prices on other brands, a spokesman for the unit of Altria Group Inc. <MO.N> said.Since changes in promotional discounts are typically passed on to consumers, the move could raise the average price a smoker pays for a pack of top-selling Marlboro...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - The Florida Supreme Court has thrown out a $145 billion punitive damage award against cigarette makers - and decertified the case as a class action -- in a huge victory for the tobacco industry. "We unanimously conclude that the punitive damages award is excessive as a matter of law," the court said in a ruling handed down in the Engle case on Thursday. The news sent shares of No. 1 tobacco company Altria , +6.6%) up 5.5% to $77.44 while Reynolds American (RAI : reynolds american 119.21, +4.85, +4.2%) gained 4.8% to $119.79. ) U.S. stocks boosted...