TOBACCO

Mississippi Governor Sues to Halt Lawsuit: Gov. Kirk Fordice wants the state attorney general to drop the lawsuit against tobacco companies, fearing it will earn Mississippi a reputation for being antibusiness. He said that if the attorney general’s lawsuit is successful, he has little doubt that similar ones will follow against makers of other legally available products. Fordice’s suit, filed in Mississippi Supreme Court, is his second attempt in the courts to end Atty. Gen. Mike Moore’s attack on the tobacco industry. The governor sought a similar order in Jackson County Chancery Court about a year ago.