APPLE GROWERS' LAWSUIT AGAINST CBS THROWN OUT

A federal judge dismissed a $250 million lawsuit Monday that Washington's apple growers had filed against CBS Inc. after 60 Minutes broadcast a report linking the chemical Alar to cancer. The report, broadcast Feb. 26, 1989, said use of Alar increased the risk of cancer in humans, particularly children. Alar, a trade name for the chemical daminozide, was used to control fruit growth and improve fruit appearance. The apple growers who sued in 1990 contended the report cost them millions of dollars in lost sales. But U.S. District Judge Fremming Nielsen ruled the apple growers hadn't proved their case. First Amendment law requires plaintiffs bringing such lawsuits to prove media reports were false.