FOUNTAIN HILL -- St. Luke's Hospital has reached a $6,750 settlement with a federal agency over improper asbestos removal that included more than a dozen violations.

WEST PALM BEACH - The 4th District Court of Appeal has rejected a Miami law firm's effort to remove the Palm Beach County judge who presides over hundreds of asbestos lawsuits.

FAYETTE - With more than 120 people packed into his 70-seat courtroom, Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard said Friday he'll decide individually "soon" on the dozens of lawsuits before him involving asbestos claims.

FAYETTE, Miss. - Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard said Friday that he expects to issue separate rulings in dozens of asbestos cases where defendants are seeking to have the lawsuits dismissed or to force plaintiffs to give more information.

Hercules Inc. said it will drop a lawsuit seeking coverage for asbestos-related liabilities after insurance companies agreed to pay as much as $128 million for personal injury claims.

The owner of a Hayward building complex must serve four months of home detention and pay a $5,000 fine for releasing asbestos during a renovation.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal bankruptcy judge has sent McDermott International Inc.'s proposed settlement over asbestos exposure litigation to another judge.

Marks, 71, and his wife were looking forward to spending their retirement in the larger home.

The discovery of naturally occurring asbestos in the city's eastern area has the couple reconsidering their decision, even as builders add a roof to the 2,900-square-foot home they are scheduled to move into by January.

Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel J. Stack dismissed on Wednesday three out-of-state asbestos cases in his first rulings as chief asbestos judge, criticizing such lawsuits as a "cash cow" for the county.

Stack inherited a backlog of asbestos cases on Sept. 8 from Circuit Judge Nicholas G. Byron, who resigned from the docket in July to handle other civil cases.

This painful and tragic documentary tells the story of a sleepy mining town in Montana, a little place of 2,600 residents called Libby. Libby started out as a logging center, then when the trees were gone, they turned to the earth. What they found there would change their life, and it's the subject of this film.

PLYMOUTH -- The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating Craffey and Co. for possible asbestos removal violations during renovation work at its 6 Court St. building in Plymouth.

JACKSON - Defendants in asbestos cases in three southwest Mississippi counties have asked a Jefferson County judge to dismiss the lawsuits or order plaintiffs to provide more information on their claims.

Ohio's first-in-the-nation attempt to curb the tens of thousands of asbestos injury lawsuits filed in the state became law this month. But the battle over the controversial tort reform measure has just begun.

Opponents of the new law, which is intended to drastically reduce the more than 41,000 lawsuits filed by mill workers, contractors and other laborers exposed to asbestos, filed a court challenge last week arguing that retroactive provisions of the measure are unconstitutional.

ROTA, Spain - Three U.S.-based military contractors have agreed to compensate Spanish workers suffering from asbestos-related illnesses due to their work on U.S. warships in Rota during the Cold War.

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Shares of companies facing asbestos claims fell Tuesday after prospects dimmed for establishing a victims' compensation fund this year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The outlook dimmed for establishing a fund to compensate asbestos victims this year after the Senate majority leader on Monday left it off a list of priorities for the few days left in the legislative period.