Several families lost all their belongings after a fire raced through an apartment building in east Montgomery early Sunday morning. Montgomery firefighters say 16 units at the Ashton Apartment complex on Carmichael Road were destroyed. Firefighters responded to the call at about 3 a.m. Sunday. A fire department spokesman said investigators determined that food left unattended on a stove ignited the massive blaze. Two residents and two firefighters were treated for minor injuries. At least 30 residents were displaced.
Medicaid Funding
Alabama's top health officer says the state's Medicaid program is facing a major funding shortfall. Dr. Don Williamson says federal changes will add 30 million dollars to the Medicaid funding needs for 2014. State officials didn't know about the additional cost when voters approved using $347 million dollars from a state fund to bolster the Medicaid budget in September. Williamson has said Alabama Medicaid will likely switch to a managed-care system to save money.
Record Shopping
It was a great Thanksgiving weekend for retailers. A survey by the National Retail Federation showed a record 247 million shoppers crowded stores and used websites over the four-day weekend. Total spending this weekend surpassed $59 billion dollars. Today's Cyber Monday is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year for the third year in a row.