An Idaho senator whose husband is a tobacco-company lobbyist snuffed out a bill Monday to ban the industry’s latest product. Sen. Melinda Smyser, R-Parma, changed her vote after members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee initially voted 5-4 for a bill that would bar dissolvable tobacco lozenges, strips and sticks now being tested by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Another company is already selling such lozenges here. Smyser’s swit ... Jump to full article >>

State lawmakers are spouting so much hot air about the state’s budget crisis these days, it’s a wonder the Capitol hasn’t lifted off the ground like the old man’s house in the movie “Up.” If one more senator vows to block a spending cut or restore a benefit or roll back a tax hike – without offering a remotely plausible alternative for averting fiscal catastrophe – the entire Legislature will soon ... Jump to full article >>

From the NY Times- lawyers at Davis Polk were permitted to decline work on the tobacco cases if they had a moral or ethical objection to the work, Mr. Chang said. So Did Kirsten turn down the work? Nah…and I know what you’re gonna say – so what – she was an attorney who represented her client. The deal is the Tobacco dealers and their attorneys were a little closer than that -the tobacco dealers used their attorney’ ... Jump to full article >>

No senator has been bribed to influence the passage or otherwise of the National Tobacco Control Bill, Senate President David Mark said yesterday while declaring the public hearing on the bill open. Senator Mark said the issue of checking cigarette smoking was contentious as there are global lobbyists for ban of tobacco smoking as there are also organisations against the ban saying, “I have heard all sorts of stories about lobbyists trying to ... Jump to full article >>

Sen. Charles E. Grassley, top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has requested a detail of federal research funds the university has received in the last five years Reporting from Washington — A powerful U.S. senator has demanded more information about the financial health of UC San Francisco’s medical school, raising questions about whether the entire University of California system may be mismanaging federal research funds ... Jump to full article >>