text: Blue Chips Rise, Altria Higher on Upgrade  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. blue chips rose on Thursday, led  by Altria Group Inc. &lt;A HREF="http://www.investor.reuters.com/FullQuote.aspx?ticker=MO.N target=/stocks/quickinfo/fullquote"&gt;MO.N&lt;/A&gt; and other tobacco stocks, after a  federal appeals court expressed skepticism about whether the  government could force cigarette makers in a lawsuit to pay  billions of dollars.