Associated Press: While one Florida jury neared its decision that Philip Morris must pay a smoker's widow $8 million in damages, another panel was being selected in the same courtroom for the next tobacco case before the same judge.

The second of 8,000 similar Florida lawsuits filed against tobacco companies by Florida smokers and their families begins Thursday, a day after the first ended.

In the first one, six jurors deliberated over two days before returning the award Wednesday for Elaine Hess, 63, whose husband, Stuart Hess, died in 1997 at age 55 after decades as a chain smoker.

The Broward County jury's verdict marked a defeat for Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris, a unit of Altria Group, and could set the standard for the rest of the cases.

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