Washington  - The US Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out cigarette maker Philip Morris USA's appeal in a 79.5-million-dollar lawsuit brought a decade ago by a smoker's widow.

The court, in a one-sentence opinion, declined to rule on the legal issues in the case, effectively upholding the award in 1999 by an Oregon jury to Mayola Williams, who was widowed when her husband died of lung cancer.

The award has since ballooned to 145 million dollars with interest.

Washington - The United States is reviewing existing free- trade deals and will take other countries to task for adopting illegal trade barriers, the country's top trade official said Tuesday.

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the administration was developing a list of countries and programmes that violate international trade law and is prepared to take offenders before the World Trade Organization or other bilateral forums.

New York  - The Sun-Times Media Group Inc, owner of the Chicago Sun Times and more than 50 other US newspapers, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday as it became the latest casualty of the advertising slump that is wreaking havoc throughout the newspaper industry.

The company said it would continue to operate as usual as it tries to stabilize its operations, though it said it was ordering all non- union employees to take a week of unpaid leave in April or May. The company listed assets of 479 million dollars and debts of 801 million dollars.

Washington  - The US Chamber of Commerce Tuesday threw its weight behind a bill being introduced in the US Senate which would eliminate the ban on most US travel to the Caribbean island.

The bill, which has strong momentum in both parties, is seen as a first step towards reexamining the overall restrictions on US trade with the communist island.

"The US embargo on Cuba is a 50-year failure, and lifting the ban on travel is a good first step toward a more rational policy," said Myron Brilliant, a top official in the business group.

Washington - US legislators on Tuesday unveiled far-reaching climate legislation that would boost incentives for renewable energy and for the first time force companies to pay for pollution that is blamed for global warming.

The draft bill, introduced in the Energy and Commerce Committee in the US House of Representatives, marks the first step in what promises to be a long and contentious battle in Congress.

Washington  - General Motors Corp is keeping open the option of bankruptcy in order to restructure the flagging US carmaker, GM's new chief executive Fritz Henderson said Tuesday.

Henderson, who took over the top job from Rick Wagoner Monday as part of a White House-forced shake-up, said he was confident the company could make the necessary changes to survive either way.

"If we're not successful doing it out of court, we will do it in court," Henderson told reporters in his first press conference from Detroit.