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REGIONAL - Don't forget to check out the Taste of the Beach this weekend.

The four-day culinary event takes place along the Panhandle and benefits children's charities in Northwest Florida.

Now through Sunday you can stop by Destin or Santa Rosa Beach for wine tasting, live music, and of course, great food.

For more information, click on "News Links" on our website."Taste of the Beach" Going On This Weekend

• IN FLORIDA NEWS

Fla. smoker's widow gets $17.5M in lawsuit
March 12, 2010 17:43 EST

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The widow of a Florida smoker has been awarded $17.5 million in damages by a Gainesville jury in a lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

The jury on Friday awarded Amanda Hall $12.5 million in punitive damages, adding to $5 million in compensatory damages awarded Thursday. Hall's husband Arthur died in 1995.

The case is among about 8,000 filed in Florida by smokers or their families against tobacco companies. The individual cases were brought after the state Supreme Court in 2006 threw out a $145 billion class-action award for all Florida smokers.

R.J. Reynolds said it will appeal the verdict.

Hall's attorney is Rod Smith, a former state senator who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006.

Thursday, November 5 2009, 11:56 PM EST

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• BUSINESS NEWS

Retail sales better-than-expected

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Commerce Department says retail sales last month posted a surprising 0.3 percent increase.

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La. senator: Are deaths linked to Chinese drywall?

 NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter is calling on federal officials to do a thorough probe into the deaths of several people who lived in homes built with suspect Chinese drywall. ...

• SCIENCE/TECH NEWS

IN THE NEWS: PINK FLOYD PREVAILS IN DOWNLOAD CASE

LONDON (AP) -- Score one for Pink Floyd.

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA-CENSUS

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- Census workers in Colorado could be getting a contact high.

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