Also. . .

A federal judge in Texas approved a record $15.3-billion settlement in the state’s Medicaid lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The pact, which calls for cigarette makers to give Texas $1.25 billion up front and the rest in annual payments over the next 25 years, was the largest settlement in the history of U.S. litigation. Lawyers for the state and industry signed the agreement last week as the lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial, but it required the approval of U.S. District Judge David Folsom.